


Moondrop

by Allganne, SeoMad (Allganne)



Series: The Witch Heart [3]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Anxiety, Asexual Character, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Magic, Mental Instability, Strangers to Lovers, Witches, soldier yukhei, witch donghyuck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-02
Updated: 2019-09-02
Packaged: 2020-10-05 20:23:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 37,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20494784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Allganne/pseuds/Allganne, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Allganne/pseuds/SeoMad
Summary: Donghyuck has spent almost half of his life pretending he’s not jealous of the partnerships of those around him.It seems too messy. Too complicated.He’s decided he doesn’t need it; hewants it, but he doesn’t need it.And then Johnny comes back as a Legion Commander with a herd of very attractive soldiers at his command. And one in particular seems ready to make Donghyuck eat his words.





	Moondrop

**Author's Note:**

> This work has been a lot more than i ever intended it to be. But i truly hope you can enjoy it! 
> 
> As much as I hope it stands well on it's own i am still pretty sure you'll get more out of it if you've read Witch Heart first. 
> 
> And I really need to thank KJ for helping me power through this. She's been my beta and helped me bounce ideas that have made this fic even better, and given me ideas for things that even she doesnt know about yet.

It’s cloudy.

The sky overhead is struck with smearing wisps of grey and white that are obscuring the sun from every glittering corner of White Stone and it is making Hyuck miserable.

It is not the weather best suited for joy, and there is so much of it in the air today.

There has been a current of unbridled anticipation running through the entire prefecture all morning. A growing aura that has been building up for the last few days and right now is almost palpable.

Jungwoo is in his _element_, bouncing around the lower city basking in the preparations going on for the night’s celebrations, and Hyuck has been avoiding Jaemin all morning, because this is the exact type of magic in the air that makes him his most obnoxious.

Instead he’s been sitting in the square for almost an hour watching the harried occupants of White Stone run along in their bid to get everything done before the real excitement hits.

_The soldiers are coming home._

They are still a shadow growing on the horizon, a train of heroes on their march back from war and the closer they get the busier everyone else is.

It’s fun, feeling so much joy in the air, so much anticipation.

But it’s still cloudy.

“There you are,” Renjun huffs, stalking towards Hyuck from the northern stairs and scattering the small herd of finches Donghyuck has been feeding. The birds jump into the air with a flurry of alarmed chirping and fluttering feathers. But they settle just as quickly as Renjun does, perching himself on the low wall next to Donghyuck, knees tucked up tight to his chest.

Hyuck scatters some more seeds and enjoys the little whirlwind of feathers.

“Who’s fussing?” he asks and Renjun huffs again.

“Teukie. He says you’re late.”

“Pffft, they’re still at least an hour away,” Donghyuck scoffs and Renjun rolls his eyes, offering his finger to a more inquisitive little bird.

“Just because _you_ know their schedule better than the soldiers do doesn’t mean Teukie doesn’t want everyone inside the castle.”

Donghyuck hums, mostly to himself and tosses another handful of seeds over the cobblestones and watches in amusement as the little birds descend on their treats.

He wants to be excited. He can’t help it that he’s not. Not when he can’t feel the sunshine.

It’s the middle of the day. It’s _summer_. He should be harder to deal with than Jaemin right now.

But it’s cloudy.

it’s been cloudy for days.

“Come on,” Renjun cajoles and rises back to his feet in a single smooth glide, reaching out to help pull Hyuck to his feet and he makes Injunnie work for it.

He’s being difficult on purpose, really.

Clouds or not he can still feel the sun. It’s not like that disappears entirely. He just likes it when he feels her watching him. Prefers feeling the glare of her, unimpeded and warm on his back.

But Taeyong has been off kilter ever since the news came in that the soldiers were coming back.

It hasn’t stormed yet, but it’s just cloudy and Hyuck hates it.

Today is supposed to be happy. It’s supposed to be good.

_Johnny is coming home_.

But that’s the exact reason Taeyongie is feeling so off and it’s hard to be excited when half his hyungs are being miserable and secretive.

Renjun tucks his arm into Hyuck’s and pulls him along a little faster in his bid to return Hyuck to the Witch Heart where their eldest Prince is looking for him.

It might be cloudy, but the Heart still feels like magic, still feels alert and alight and it’s enough to make Hyuck’s runes prickle under his skin the closer they get. Even Injunnie looks brighter for all the magic in the air and Hyuck tries to let go of some of his sulking.

After all, he wants to be excited too.

_Johnny_ is coming come.

“There you are!” Leeteuk sighs, rubbing tiredly at his eyes as Renjun drags Hyuck back through the elaborate entrance and down into the centre of the Heart where all the elder Witches have been particularly boring all day in preparation for the return of their soldiers.

Hyuck is tired of all the pomp and ceremony and nothing important has even started yet.

The Greeting is the only thing he’s looking forward to because he gets to be one of those formally welcoming Johnny home.

The formal dinner after is what he’s dreading.

Politics is boring, but mostly because he doesn’t have the connections or experience to play much of a part yet. Doyoungie keeps saying he can’t wait until Hyuck gets set loose and Hyuck has the feeling that the look of delight in Heechul’s eyes whenever Taeyong mentions taking Hyuck with him to the Black City is what is keeping Leeteuk from letting him go.

Not that he has to think about the Black City tonight, not when the fun for once has come to them.

“Please stay put, Donghyuck!” Leeteuk calls out, sounding resigned, as Hyuck drags Injunnie past the exhausted looking form of their eldest Witch Prince.

“Fine!” Hyuck calls back, pretend-weary, and wanders towards the back corner where Jongin and Taemin are lying around and talking amongst themselves.

“I’ll see you after dinner, yeah?” Renjun asks as Hyuck flops down dramatically on as many cushions as he can and embraces the sound of Taemin and Jongin laughing at him.

“Yeah. I’ll sneak out if I have to,” he promises and Renjun rolls his eyes and scampers off towards the freedom everyone else has.

“Don’t be too loud, Hyuckie, Teuk is on a warpath,” Taemin grins, reaching over to pull his hair. “He wants everyone to behave.”

“Gerroff,” Hyuck whines but rolls further into his hyung’s grasp instead. It’s been too long since Taemin and Jongin have been back; they spend too much time between the Wall and the Black City for Hyuck’s liking these days.

“You won’t tell on me, will you, Hyung?” he asks, eyes wide, batting his lashes.

It’s hard not to get swept up under Taemin’s attention; his mischief is something Hyuck has admired since he was too small to even reach the tables in the dining hall to put salt in Teukie’s wineglass.

It’s been a long time since then and time has tempered his hyung a bit. Hyuck is even be an adult now but he still feels like preening whenever the Witch of Shadows draws him in and pays him even the slightest bit of attention.

Taemin laughs.

“I won’t tell on you if you don’t tell on me,” he winks and Hyuck beams, flopping back down onto the cushions and letting Taemin and Jongin go back to whatever they were talking about before he gatecrashed.

It’s nice. It’s warmer inside the Heart than it was outside, the magic buzzing in the air is impossibly thick this close to the Heart Stone and the sound of his hyung’s gentle talking lulls him into a quiet half-doze. And while it’s not quite the Sunshine he wants, it settles his nerves while they wait out their time before the ceremony.

It’s impossible not to know the moment the soldiers start entering the city. The Southern Gate is kilometres away still, but the roar of the townsfolk can be heard even in the Heart itself as they cheer their warriors home.

Time is of the essence then. There’s no more time for lying about and Hyuck does as he’s told because it would be foolish not to.

He knows what’s expected of him these days, more than six months since he returned from the Black City as a Witch Prince. He knows he still approaches his station with a little more recklessness than Leeteuk would like; but given it hasn’t even been a year he thinks he’s still allowed a little more freedom from the burdens of Princeship.

He sets about fixing his jewellery and straightening out his jacket; sleeveless and red it shines with golden thread and glistening glass beads as the elaborate embroidered rays of sunshine spread over his shoulders and back. With his arms bare and his runes dark against his skin he looks the part of a Witch Prince, Jungwoo always says.

First impressions are everything, after all.

But best of all he feels it too. Which can be hard, given the four others who carry the same mantel.

_Soon_, the Sunshine whispers to him as he lurks, ignoring the Quartermaster and Leeteuk’s last minute squabbling in favour of looking for the last of the five Witch Princes of White Stone.

Johnny might be the Commander of their returning soldiers but _Taeyong_ is almost the man of the hour himself, given that Johnny hadn’t grown up an Imperial Soldier.

Instead he had grown up here, as Yongie’s very own Witch Guard. They had even been meant to Bind, something that doesn’t happen very often at all until it all slipped away when Johnny was conscripted and sent to the Wall.

It’s been a long time since then, and far too much has changed.

Hyuck would have to call himself a liar if he wasn’t at least a little curious how Taeyong’s going to react seeing Johnny for the first time in five years.

Particularly since the last few days have been miserable.

It doesn’t take being clairvoyant to tell that Taeyong is anxious about having Johnny back.

There’s only minutes left, really, before they all need to move into place to greet the Commander’s entourage through the Gates and Taeyongie is still missing. But he won’t be far away, Hyuck knows, because Taeyong takes his duties almost more seriously than Leeteuk.

Peering expectantly around the outer corridors Hyuck’s immediately pleased with himself when he notices one of the adjacent reading rooms is open and he slinks out from under Leeteuk’s gaze and heads towards it.

He grins as he gets close enough to hear murmuring voices and slinks close enough to peer through the door, his curiosity too powerful to send him backwards.

Taeyong is sitting on one of the chaises looking sort of small and the grin slides off Hyuck’s face.

“Just take it slowly,” Doyoung says, voice soft and tempered as he tries to comfort Taeyong, sitting half around the smaller Witch as he strokes his hair. Taeyong looks pale and stressed and there are little whirlwinds catching around his shaking fingers.

Hyuck’s stomach twists and he backs up, feeling like he’s seen something he shouldn’t, only to bump right into Taemin who looks at him wryly, eyebrow raised.

“Come along now, duckling,” Taemin says, drawing Hyuck back towards the main archway with an arm around his shoulders. “Let Doyoung handle our little storm, alright?”

Feeling chastened, Hyuck nods and lets Taemin lead him outside.

He needn’t have worried, though, because Taeyong emerges from the Heart not a minute later. He walks tall and he at least looks composed. If anything, he looks like he’s dressed for war and there is a coldness to him that almost radiates as he settles in his place between Jongin and Hyuck. Jongin offers Taeyong a soft smile and wraps an arm around his waist and Taeyong gives the Fire Witch a weak smile before turning it on Donghyuck.

“You look very handsome today, Hyuckie,” he says, reaching out to toy with Hyuck’s fringe a little, wearing a soft little smile.

Hyuck wants to say something back but loses his chance when Taeyong’s gaze shifts unexpectedly and he breathes in sharply. Hyuck follows Taeyong’s eyeline and watches as several shadows turn the bend and the five of them see their returning soldiers for the first time.

There are only four of them and even at a distance it is impossible not to recognise Johnny leading the way.

Hyuck reaches out and takes Taeyong’s hand and tries not to focus on the way Taeyong is trembling. He squeezes tight and Taeyong squeezes back.

The wait then seems like it’s an eternity as Johnny leads his soldiers down the circular sakura-lined path down the cliff face where they are all waiting just beyond the Hollow Gates.

As the soldiers reach the final turn Taeyong finally lets go of Hyuck’s hand and any hint of turmoil disappears behind a cold mask of impunity.

The Tempest Prince taking the last of Taeyongie’s vulnerability and hiding it away.

It’s easy then, to get lost in his own excitement as Hyuck can fully see Johnny.

It’s impossible not to.

Hyuck remembers Johnny fondly. Most here at White Stone do. But for Hyuck he had been the older brother who had indulged him more than almost anyone else. Who had always made him feel safest when he was most afraid, and made him feel seen and heard when he was feeling small.

It had been lonely when Johnny left, as if all the joy had been sucked out of White Stone.

Taeyong had been quiet and despondent and everyone else had been quickly forced to realise that Johnny had always been at the lead of any mischief between the younger half of the coven. Hyuck had seen Yuta look towards Johnny’s empty spot almost every night at dinner, searching for a partner to share his hapless teasing. Ten had been mulish and more vindictive for a while but it had tapered out quickly enough.

Hyuck just remembers missing his Hyung. Johnny had been the best older brother Hyuck could ask for. He had looked out for Hyuck in ways no one else did and Hyuck could never quite figure out what made it so special.

He’s missed him, for a long, long time and he still hasn’t figured out why it had hurt so much to have him gone.

Time will tell, he thinks, and time has told many a story in the years since Johnny Seo was last in the Neo City.

Johnny is different than Hyuck remembers. He’s taller, broader, an enormous figure that walks with a confidence that Hyuck immediately envies and a quiet seriousness he doesn’t.

His black uniform suits him, though; he wears the trappings of an Imperial soldier better than any of the others who have trailed through the Heart these last few years. The silver cherry tree on his shoulder spreads over his chest and up his collar and glints in the sunshine. There are three others following just behind him, but there could be no other Commander of the Wall.

Johnny draws the attention of a leader, but there is still the same kindness in his eyes.

_The Heart has returned to the Storm,_ the Sunshine whispers, happily. A quiet relief.

Hyuck grins and tries not to bounce on the balls of his feet.

Johnny has been gone almost longer than Donghyuck even knew him before he left. But people like Johnny Seo make a lasting impression and it’s impossible to forget him. He has the same kind smile that lights up his face when he looks Donghyuck’s way that Hyuck remembers.

But when he looks at Taeyong, however, it’s different.

“Commander Seo,” Leeteuk says, stepping forward to begin the ceremony.

It is an ancient thing, steeped in more tradition than even the runes that decorate the enormous stone gates. But it is also a quiet, simple thing.

“Prince Leeteuk, I return myself and my men to the Neo City at your call. I beg the Witch Heart entry at your mercy,” Johnny says, bowing low.

“And I have no reason to deny you entry home,” Leeteuk replies.

The words are simple but the magic in them is vibrant and ancient and there are whispers echoing through the cherry blossoms as each of Hyuck’s elder brothers murmur their turn. Welcoming Johnny and his soldiers home. Denying their chance to condemn the choices Johnny has made as Commander at the Wall.

The ceremony is short, but Hyuck knows its worth, its importance. He knows the magic that lingers here, between the boughs of sakura and the intricately carved stone that forms the Hollow Gates.

“I, too, have no reason to deny you entry home,” Jongin says offering Johnny a smile as the third Witch Prince of the Witch Heart bestows his welcome.

And then all eyes turn to Taeyong. To the one person in all of White Stone who should be happiest to have their soldier home.

Taeyong, who hesitates.

It’s painfully obvious by the way the air tingles cold that Taeyong is panicking, that he is stumbling, tasting words on his tongue like he’s going to deny Johnny home.

It doesn’t happen.

Taeyongie pulls himself together quick enough to do what he has to do and then it’s Hyuck’s turn.

“I have no reason to deny you entry,” he says, almost in a rush, his heart pounding in his chest and Johnny smiles, soft and familiar, before everyone’s attention finally turns back to Leeteuk as he finishes the rest of the ceremony.

Except Hyuck can feel the tension bristling through Taeyong, and the way his hyung looks stricken, almost vibrating in place as Johnny leads the way through the Hollow Gates and the magic of the Heart ripples through them in release.

The first part is over, just like that, and then Taeyong is gone, disappearing before Teukie can finish getting Johnny inside the building.

Hyuck follows, because he knows it’s what he’s meant to do, and because he wants to.

It is easy to fall in line and follow along.

Taemin and Jongin split up, each one drawing one of Johnny’s accompanying soldiers into a gentle conversation, leaving the last and youngest for Donghyuck.

The boy, Lieutenant Lee, is dark haired and doe eyed and clearly barely older than Hyuck is despite the fact he wears his soldier’s uniform with a grace that does not entirely match the way he has his mouth open wide enough he could swallow a spider without realising it. He doesn’t even seem to notice Hyuck as they enter the castle, his gaze flittering about in amazement like he is unable to settle it on just one thing.

“You know it’s all still going to be there tomorrow; you don’t have to look at it all now,” Hyuck teases, feeling a little put out that the boy finds the roof more impressive than he does Donghyuck. Whether he realises Hyuck’s mood or not, the soldier does seem to realise his mistake and blushes, unable to quite meet Hyuck gaze as they follow the others.

His embarrassment is sort of cute though and Hyuck laughs when the soldier trips over his feet as they’re lead into the dining hall where the castle is at her best.

The news of the soldiers return has been the only thing the entirety of White Stone has been able to talk about for days, and while the formal dining is fun enough, Donghyuck really only wants to get out early so he can see as much of the towns fun as possible.

The soldiers are back and that’s all that matters.

Not that the excitement of the city matters much here, as Leeteuk and the older members of the Witch Heart talk through the events on the Wall and the long boring events during the soldiers’ march home.

The youngest of Johnny’s small contingent is the only thing keeping Donghyuck from trying to drown himself in his wine glass. The young Lieutenant unable to stop staring at everything and keeps pointing out the more interesting dishes eagerly to the handsome looking Captain sitting to his right until eventually even he starts teasing him for it.

Watching the poor little soldier spill wine over himself is the only interesting thing going on, really, considering how boring and formal the talk is between Johnny and Teukie.

Taemin and Jongin bow out early like they warned, flashing Hyuck a wink as they go. Hyuck throws back the ugliest face he can make when Taemin lingers long enough to send him a mocking little wave.

He wishes desperately he could give chase then and there; but Prince or not, as the youngest of them, without permission from one of his older brothers he’s just going to get scolded.

Thankfully the baby soldier finally works up the courage to look at Hyuck again, staring with a dumbfounded sort of curiosity that Hyuck finds hilarious.

He happily stares back, quirking an eyebrow at the solider who goes beet red and looks away immediately. Hyuck laughs giddily and leans forward in his chair to get a better look down the table and, just like he thought he would be, the young soldier is shooting him a careful glance every minute or so, twitchy and blushing.

He’s cute, Hyuck acknowledges.

He’s about to keep messing with him when a heavy hand slaps down on Hyuck’s shoulder and he looks up into Heechul’s quirked gaze as the older witch leans down to talk lowly in Hyuck’s ear.

“As much as I enjoy your mischief, Donghyuck-ah, there is plenty of time yet to play. Be off with you,” he nods and Hyuck beams, pressing a delighted kiss to his hyung’s cheek.

“You’re always my favourite,” he cheers and Heechul laughs as Hyuck gets up.

“Mind the Guard tonight, duckling. Siwon has an eye out,” he warns. Hyuck blows him another kiss as he scampers out of Heechul’s way.

He makes a beeline straight for Renjun’s rooms, which aren’t terribly far from his own but they recently realised that the far wall lines up with the outside edge of the private rose garden and with the vines Jaemin has been growing for a few weeks now, sneaking out is hopefully going to be easier than usual.

Not that it’s hugely necessary for them to be so childish.

So long as they stay within the bounds of the city, and there’s a Witch Guard or two within sight, they really have free reign all the time.

Chenle, on the other hand, can’t go anywhere without an accompaniment, and unlike Jeno, Jisung doesn’t count as his Witch Guard yet.

But especially given Heechul’s warning, and with this many newcomers to the city, Hyuck isn’t taking any chances having someone like Siwon follow them around all night and ruin his fun.

There is booze Hyuck wants to drink and soldiers he wants to play with, and he wants to try and find that boy of Johnny’s and see if he can get him to spill wine all over himself again. It’s boring when you know everybody and everybody knows you. There are boundaries everyone refuses to cross and he has nobody he wants to take advantage of. He hasn’t had anyone look at him twice since his trip to the Black City for his Oath ceremony which had been very serious and very boring all at the same time.

Most of his Prince duties are, and there are days where he’s stuck with Leeteuk and Taeyong in the back rooms of the Heart listening to very boring reports and letters and he wonders if Jaemin didn’t nominate him with the distinct purpose of getting out of all that himself.

But this time the strangers have come to him, and with enough luck he won’t have to worry about anything witchy short of taking his shirt off. And considering how high Jungwoo’s tension was this morning he doesn’t need his Sight to know that tonight is going to be fun.

It’s later than he would have liked to get away, even with Heechul taking pity on him, but Donghae had let slip earlier that most of the soldiers aren’t planning on leaving the barracks until night has fallen anyway.

The others are already waiting for him when he gets to Renjun’s rooms, sitting on the floor with the detritus of a pilfered dinner around them. Renjun is lying flat on his back amongst the dinner plates and Jeno is sprawled entirely across Jaemin while he plays with one of Renjun’s little puzzle boxes that his family send him from time to time.

Jaemin, on the other hand, is practically vibrating and Hyuck has a sneaking suspicion that Jeno lying across his lap has more to do with keeping him in place than anything close to being comfortable.

“You took your time,” Renjun cajoles, propping himself up on his elbows to sneer at Hyuck.

“Be thankful you didn’t have to go, it was so boring,” he huffs and steals the last few mandu from the bowl closest to Renjun and shoves them all into his mouth at once.

“Did you get to talk to Johnny?” Jaemin asks, bouncing a little in excitement despite his lap being full of Jeno.

“Nuh,” he says, mouth still full and Renjun smacks him.

“We broke in and stole you some clothes,” he says and points wildly in the direction of his bed and Hyuck makes a pleased sound.

As much as he likes the elaborate trappings of his prettier clothes, tonight he doesn’t really want to be a Witch Prince.

He happily pulls off most of his jewellery and swaps the embroidered red silk for a simpler jacket that not only hides his runes but will blend into the crowd.

Renjun is dressed similarly to Hyuck, going for simple and subtle and without his Guard uniform Jeno blends in everywhere.

But it doesn’t matter in the slightest what Jaemin wears because his hair is pink and he hasn’t had any thoughts of changing it for the last year; Hyuck’s pretty sure he’s not going to give it up for one night of fun.

Not that Jaemin wants out of the Heart for the same reasons Hyuck does.

When Jaeminnie wants affection all he has to do is glance a little bit behind him where Jeno is literally following him everywhere.

They’ve been attached at the hip since long before they came to the Heart, which Hyuck finds a little weird, but that’s what makes them special.

What makes them the first pair going in for the Binding Ceremony in nearly seven years.

The last one had been Junmyeon and Sehun, Hyuck thinks, though that had perhaps only been the last from White Stone. The Black City is another thing altogether. Some of the girls have linked too, he remembers. Or if Joohyun and Seulgi haven’t yet then they clearly have no intention of doing it at all.

It’s nearing the last shreds of sunlight when they finally make their move. The lamps are starting to glow, slowly illuminating the path up into White Stone as twilight descends into darkness.

Jaemin’s climbing vines have taken especially well in the last month and as they throw open the large bay windows Hyuck doesn’t have the slightest concerns for climbing down.

Nor does Jeno, who loses rock-paper-scissors and is immediately shoved to the front to be first.

He makes it look easy, all bulging biceps and eye smiles in victory.

“There is literally no need to be doing this,” Renjun complains, as Jaemin immediately follows Jeno. Swinging his legs up over the edge before his Guard has even finished reaching the ground.

“Live a little, Injunnie,” Jaemin grins blowing him a kiss before he drops out of sight without even bothering to look down, his faith in Jeno far too strong for things like common sense.

“He’s going to break his legs one day,” Renjun mutters sourly as he steps up to take his turn. “I _can’t wait_.”

Jeno looks immensely pleased with himself as Renjun climbs down a little awkwardly and trips over his own feet right into Jeno’s clutches and doesn’t let go while he catches his bearings.

Jaemin breaks out into another joyous giggle.

Hyuck scoffs and climbs out without waiting for the others to stop fussing.

“We all know if we don’t sneak out then Siwon is going to send Shindong to nanny us the whole time and excuse me but _no_,” Donghyuck sneers, grabbing onto one of the climbing vines and using it to swing down onto the ground.

“He’s going to show up if Chenle and Jisung can’t shake him.”

“That is _their_ problem,” he scoffs but they all know that Hyukjae is probably going to end up being an unintentional distraction while the only actual Witchling in White Stone makes a break for it.

Hyuckjae might not be as dumb as his Guard, but he has a soft spot for Jisung that the maknaes have used a few times before and he still seems to keep falling for it.

Heechul will let it slide because it’s not like they’re leaving the city, and it would be rather counterproductive of him to deny them a little chaos given his own magical proclivity.

Besides, there’s no point in leaving the city bounds, not when the excitement for once has come to them.

It’s not every day that White Stone welcomes its soldiers back and the whole city is teeming with joy. The air is thick with excess magic, like a building, pent-up energy that needs to be released or they’ll all go mad.

Normally this sort of magic would be used in the Witch Heart, harnessed and put to good use but there’s no need right now. The Wall is quiet, many of the soldiers are home and they all deserve a night of fun.

The sun is at her last, smearing her colours across the horizon and Hyuck basks in the last glimmers of her attention while Jaemin leads the way up towards the city. He keeps skipping ahead, already a little drunk on the power of the joy in the air.

Not that it’s the only heightened emotion exacerbating the intoxicating thrum of magic.

It’s early still and already Hyuck can feel the familiar touch of Jungwoo’s temporal madness down his spine.

Hyuck draws his power from the Sun, she shines on him day after day and he’s more resilient against the influx of power than most others because of the sheer exposure he gets from her.

But they are not all alike.

Jungwoo is a Summer Witch, bright and burning, of pleasure and celebration, drawing power from blessings and festivity. Jaemin is a more eclectic Witch. He’s been called a Child of Spring since they were children, but it’s becoming more obvious the older they get that his powers are far more drawn towards the more emotional than the elemental.

They’re calling him a Witch of Vitality in the lower town these days and it might be strange now, but the more Hyuck hears it the less strange it sounds.

Not everyone is so obvious in their ruling power like Hyuck is, or in their speciality. Even Taeyong’s powers had been hard to pin down when he was growing up.

But Hyuck has always been a child of the Sun, always heard her whispering and his runes prickle as she bids him farewell, dipping just below the horizon as they make the last of their climb up the sakura-lined steps back up into the city.

The lamps are all lit as they reach the top of the peak and music is beginning to drift out of every corner as the revelries truly start.

It doesn’t take much for the excitement to spread with the underlying temptation of Jungwoo’s magic drawing them in. The blessing of the Witch of Abundance has the air tasting like ripening fruit, sweet and enticing. The power of it is heady and strong and they make a mad dash into the crowd to get as far away from the edge of the Witch Heart as they can.

The streets are full, everyone with a moment to spare spilling out of every door to enjoy the festivities. No one is safe from Jungwoo’s blessing and the revelry is powerful and alive.

They end up following the smell of food down along the Northern wall where the experienced marketeers are all taking full advantage of the more joyous atmosphere and the carts are overflowing with sweets and more street food than even Jisung could eat through.

Hyuck swaps a suncoin for a little bag of toffee that sticks to his teeth and leaves sugar on his tongue as he watches Jaemin chase the bakers twin daughters around in a circle, making kissing noises at the two little girls in exchange for their giggles and shrieks. Hyuck shivers at the rush of delight trickling down his spine from Jaemin’s excess excitement.

The night is young, Yuta’s stars only just showing their gaze through the haze of low-hanging clouds, and already Jaemin is leaking power like he’s a child himself with no control. He’s not even aware he’s doing it, too caught up in his fun, and Hyuck knows he’s going to be insufferable all night long, and from the fond exasperation on Renjun’s face, he knows it too.

Jeno, as always seems content to let Jaemin be Jaemin, crouched down near one of the pillars and making faces at a cat like it’s his favourite thing in the world.

It will be easier, once the approval for their Binding comes in from the Black City. It’s all but a done deal, it’s _always_ been a done deal. The two of them were a pair even before they were brought to the Witch Heart together as eleven-year-olds with their hands in each other’s pockets and a wariness for strangers.

That wariness is gone now. Jaemin completely unable to meet anyone without winning them over and Jeno just as dolefully loveable as his Witch.

Donghyuck doesn’t quite know what It’s going to be like once Jeno becomes Jaemin’s anchor and he stops spreading magical joy everywhere he goes, but he’s sure they’ll find something to be irritating with once they’re quite literally magically joined at the seams and not just physically joined at the hip.

They all end up perching along the lower walls sometime later with little savoury hotteok, watching grandmammas string up wishnotes from the returning soldiers and their families between the stalls.

The notes flutter between the hanging lights and ribbons as music starts filtering up through the city, resonating with a familiar power that means Chenle has finally made it out of the castle and Hyuck taps along to the tune happily, singing along to those he knows.

Donghyuck’s cheeks hurt from smiling and the stress that has been hanging in the air of the Witch Heart the last few weeks finally starts seeping away by the time Jaemin decides he wants candied apples and soju and drags Renjun off into the crowd before even looking back to see if anyone else is following him.

Jeno shoots Hyuck a full-cheeked smile before toddling off in their wake and Hyuck snorts, allowing himself to be distracted by the popping sparks of the firecrackers being lit in the town square as they wander through.

There’s a circle of people watching them, and he joins the crowd to enjoy the way the firecrackers spark and shatter, popping and fizzing light as they burn through their wicks.

The children shriek and cheer, jumping and clapping at the noise and lights and Donghyuck grins.

Another round of crackers are lit and the shouting and giggling flares up again.

Until one little girl lets out a short scream and flails away as one of the crackers keeps jumping and crackling right in her face.

Most of the adults laugh good naturedly, and a few of the loitering soldiers snicker not-so-kindly at her fear, but no one tries to pull her back or kick the cracker back into the centre of the circle and Donghyuck frowns.

She’s too little to be left to her own devices, and whoever is meant to keeping watch over her doesn’t seem to be paying her any mind.

Another cracker goes off right next to her and she cries out again, making a mad dash backwards nearly tripping over into the legs of an enormous soldier and Hyuck is a moment away from going over and giving them a what-for when the giant kneels down and pulls her into his chest so she has somewhere to hide her eyes.

The soldiers are getting rowdier now, its been hours since the revelry started and the air is thick with the smell of liquor and latent magic. Jungwoo’s influence is growing stronger as the night progresses and as a Witch Prince this really is the sort of thing Hyuck should be sorting out. It’s his job to take care of the city and her people, Doyoung always says, Prince or not.

Which is the truth in its most basic form; it is their job to take care of people. That’s why they have the positions they have, why they exist here at White Stone and not the hundreds of other cities and towns or even the Wall where they could be just as useful.

Pushing his way towards the front of the crowd Donghyuck focuses on the still-popping crackers and traps a spark between his fingertips and with a lick of his own magic he transforms the small explosions into harmless light.

It’s the type of show that the crackers are used to copy; cheap imitations easily bought and sold by those without any magic of their own. Donghyuck’s light shows are far more exclusive.

The children catch on immediately and their happy shrieks burst into something more excited and he lets their happiness fuel his ego.

Instead of sharp bangs and popping explosions the lights spark and swirl through each other, changing colours and shapes with gentle chimes as they intercept.

The kids recognise him long before any of the adults realise who is at fault for the change in their entertainment and when two of the older girls pull him forward even the little girl is no longer hiding herself away in the giant of a soldier. Her eyes are wide and damp but she’s giggling wetly as Hyuck spins a glittering hummingbird around her and up over the crowd.

He grins and laughs, feeling eyes on his back, but when he glances behind him there’s only the others watching him in fond exasperation, bottles of glittering soju under their arms.

He sticks his tongue out and goes back to his lights.

It doesn’t take long, however, before he hears the very distinct sound of Chenle’s high-pitched cackle and he searches out the others immediately.

“Time to go!” Jaemin laughs and grabs Jeno by the hand to pull him madly into the crowd without hesitation.

None of them want to be caught now, not when the fun is only just starting.

Hyuck immediately gives chase, weaving through the crowd after his friends, glancing back in search of the tall shadows of Siwon or Shindong only to slam right into a thick wall of solid muscle. Except when he looks up it turns out to be a pretty soldier who smiles wide and wonderful.

Hyuck laughs and blows the soldier a kiss as he skirts around him, dashing away to the sound of laughter.

*

Morning comes far too early and far too brisk for mid-summer. The air scolds them with a gentle bite and the grass around them is cold and speckled in dew. The sun is slow to climb her way above the mountains and waking cold and damp is punishment enough for their antics.

Hyuck feels a little queasy from too much sugar and not enough water rather than the punishment of however much soju he drank, but the Sun is just as merciless in chiding him for it.

Jaemin seems to suffer the least of them, or perhaps is simply still too drunk on the magic in the air to suffer the consequences for his excess.

Jeno looks put about by being woken but seems much happier about being dragged back towards an actual bed than the little back corner of the garden where they ended up hours earlier.

Renjun doesn’t whine as much as Hyuck does, but then again, he never does, and Donghyuck pouts as Injunnie yanks uselessly at one of his arms.

“I will leave you here,” he threatens and that’s enough to make Hyuck get up because he really doesn’t want to get caught out here alone with far too many empty soju bottles and the last third of a wet and soggy pie.

The castle is quiet as they wander up towards their private apartments, Hyuck for some more sleep and Injunnie for whatever he does when Hyuck isn’t around. The bastard witch of Rejuvenation incapable of even suffering like the rest of them.

Normally this time of day is when the castle is almost at her most alive. They’re both usually down in the Heart by now; but considering the celebrations the night before Hyuck isn’t expecting much.

There is, however, shouting coming from the training arena and the pair of them linger in the doorway to peer out the window where the contingent of Witch Guard are just starting their morning drills and a herd of soldiers are all milling about yelling at each other.

They’re probably still drunk.

Hyuck would be, if this was his first night home in however long.

“I’m going to put curses in their kimchi if they don’t shut up,” he pouts, slumping uselessly over Renjun some more. Renjun snorts.

“Not the kimchi,” he chides and Hyuck just groans.

“It’s nice though. They’re making the Heart feel alive again,” Renjun says simply, sounding happy, and Hyuck looks at his best friend feeling terribly soft all of a sudden.

“Awww, Injunnie,” he teases the moment Renjun catches him, because it’s important to never show weakness in front of Renjun.

Renjun thumps him.

“It’s better than how miserable it’s been lately,” he scowls and Hyuck groans in agreement.

“Yeah, Taeyongie wasn’t happy yesterday. He got all flustered and nearly forgot what to say when it was his turn to greet Johnny through the Gates.”

There’s a beat of silence and Hyuck turns to Renjun a little perplexed only to find Renjun staring at him wide eyed, mouth slack in shock.

“What?” he asks and Renjun thumps him again.

“You said nothing interesting happened yesterday!”

“Nothing did!”

“Who _are_ you?! Hyuck, that is the literal definition of interesting! What happened? Tell me,” Renjun urges and Hyuck is far too tired and slow for this much eagerness.

“I just did?” he blinks and Renjun rolls his eyes.

“Are you sure it wasn’t on purpose? Cause Jeno says Doyoung is _mad_-mad at Johnny, like incineration mad. Maybe Taeyong’s been listening to Doyoung-hyung’s incineration plans and thought about making Johnny disintegrate going through the Gates.”

“You don’t get _disintegrated_ going through the Gates,” Hyuck replies, a little dumbfounded and Renjun just scoffs.

“Yeah, but the rune spells are awful; I’ve seen some of the old accounts in the library. The curses some of them had are wild, like ruin and destruction type stuff.”

“All he did was hesitate,” Hyuck says, mulishly, feeling a little defensive over Taeyong for a moment as he remembers the way the elder witch had been before the ceremony. That quiet moment he wasn’t supposed to see. _Take it slowly_, Doyoung had said.

“He’d never actually curse Johnny,” Hyuck says, determinedly but Injunnie is too far along in his tirade to stop now.

“Yeah, but even turning him away would do so much damage. The approval of the Witch Court has serious connotations, if it gets back to the nobility in the prefectures that a Commander has lost approval with a Witch Prince it could mean a lot of shit for Johnny.”

“Then don’t say anything!”

Renjun looks at him a little disgusted.

“I’m not going to?! I’m just mad you didn’t say anything. That’s like the most interesting thing that’s gone on here since Hyukjae locked Donghae out of his apartments in his jockstrap. _Everyone _is talking about Johnny being home, Hyuck; the castle staff wouldn’t shut up about it yesterday. ‘Oh, did you see? He’s so handsome; our Johnny all grown up and back home again! A Commander now! What a pair they’ll make! Oh my!’” Renjun mocks.

“You sound like Ten,” Hyuck scowls, peering pointedly out the window where some of Johnny’s soldiers are starting their morning training.

Hundreds of soldiers returned to White Stone, but only Johnny’s personal contingent have access to the Witch Guard’s private training arena in the castle’s boundaries.

There are a handful of them play fighting near the stables. The tall one struggles free and full on tackles the older one off the top of the pile.

Even at this distance Hyuck can hear the muffled roar as he scuffles with Captain Jung in the dirt.

He loses, but barely. Hyuck hopes next time he wins.

“Are you even listening to me?” Renjun complains and Hyuck laughs.

“Nope,” he says, smacking his lips. He’s tired and hungry and definitely not hung over… Definitely not.

“You’re useless,” Renjun sighs and pushes Hyuck off his shoulder who promptly overbalances and lands sprawled on the floor.

“Injunnie, noooooo!” he whines as the elder witch heads further up the hall.

“Breakfaaaaast!”

“Get there yourself!” Renjun hollers as he disappears down the corridor and forces Donghyuck to use his own two feet to give chase

*

The problem with letting a fox into a hen house is that something either happens to the fox or the hens and the intervening maelstrom is always messy.

Letting Johnny back into White Stone has a similar effect.

Hyuck might have been too hungover and half asleep to really think on Renjun’s fixation for very long right then, but that doesn’t mean he forgets about it completely, and it certainly doesn’t mean Renjun wasn’t right about, well, _everything_.

The entire castle’s staff seem completely flustered by the return of Commander Seo. That very afternoon Hyuck is given a personal recount of his house Auntie’s time looking after Young Master Johnny when he was no taller than her apron strings, and oh how _nice_ it was seeing him back and so tall and handsome after so long away.

Jaemin complains about how long it took getting an incredibly late breakfast (dinner) because the cooking staff were all too distracted gossiping, and even Jeno admitted that most of the Witch Guard have been talking about the return of one of their own as a Commander no less for days already.

White Stone is a mess.

And that isn’t even going anywhere near the inner circle that counts.

Not that he has the time or attention to fixate on Johnny and the ill-fated welcoming when it ends up being mostly forgotten in favour of Jungwoo’s powers going a little haywire.

It ends up taking nearly the full day before the lower town even starts to recover from the night’s prior celebrations, something that ends up being made even worse by the fact that the celebrations themselves leave Jungwoo in his magical peak, bubbling and cackling every time he so much as opens his mouth. His enthusiasm is particularly infectious because, like Jaemin, that is where Jungwoo’s power lies.

The festivities have left Jungwoo power-drunk, which only heightens his latent magic in a cyclical loop of magical problems and with so many newly returned soldiers the last thing anyone wants is too much revelry.

Jeno spends almost an hour retelling the three separate fistfights that had to be broken up the night before. And considering that even just lingering near Jungwoo too long leaves most of them with a comedown that feels more like a hangover, it’s almost a blessing by the time Taeil takes him up to his rooftop to calm down and let everyone relax.

It’s easier, then, when the urge to indulge finally subsides.

The following morning finds most of the coven back in the Heart for Dawn, like usual, and an empty calmness in the air that is genuinely refreshing.

Even with the Wall being so quiet their morning rituals are less distinct and instead of threading spells through the Heart Stone most of them split apart for their own amusement.

For Hyuck it involves taking over his favourite spot in the cushions and listening to as much gossip as he can while he lazily collects any wayward shreds of glistening sunlight and threading them into tiny butterflies. He lets them flutter through the pillars and around the shadows of the Guard on watch, trying to get them to break their stoicism and smile.

Injunnie, on the other hand, has at least three books spread out around him that look old and dusty and Hyuck is bored on his behalf, unbothered by Renjun’s fixation until Injunnie drops one with a loud snap that echoes around the sun-dappled hall and ruins Hyuck’s concentration.

“What was that for?” he scowls as his little collection of butterflies burst into a shower of fluttering light, rolling over to face the other witch. But Renjun doesn’t reply, instead nodding towards a corner of the Heart, where several of the private reading rooms lead off into a larger library. A corner where Taeyong is leaning against the wall with Doyoung almost guarding him from the rest of the room.

“Oh,” Hyuck mutters and flops down again, resting his chin on folded arms to snoop. They’re not the only ones peering at the little argument going on between the Storm Witch and the Witch of the Hearth, either.

Taeil is doing a much better job of not-staring than Jungwoo is.

Not that there is a lot to see.

As a Witch in position of power Taeyong is used to feeling eyes on his back and it doesn’t take long before he remembers where exactly they are and pushes Doyoung aside, disappearing into the library.

There is a beat of quiet before Renjun speaks up.

“Did you know Witch-Princess Dian of the Northern Reach cursed Captain Kim Jaeho during the welcoming ceremony when he came back from the Elmswood crusade?” Renjun says idly, like it’s a piece of information he’s just picked up from somewhere and not an example he’s been searching for all morning. “Captain Kim lost every single wager he ever made after that. For twenty-seven years.”

“_Thanks_,” Hyuck replies with a fond eyeroll and looks back to where Doyoung is stalking towards the exit and out into the gardens.

It doesn’t take much to know what Doyoung had been asking about, or why Taeyong is being so skittish about it.

Nor does it take much more not-so-subtle pushing on Renjun’s behalf to make his point.

Hyuck’s curiosity is _definitely_ piqued. Which is annoying because the problem, Donghyuck finds, in knowing too much most of the time is that he gets a little obsessive when he doesn’t know too much all of the time.

Which is something he’s currently trying to avoid. Because there are rules amongst them, the coven, the _family_, that the Seers are to do absolutely No Snooping.

Which is a lot to ask given that there are three of them in the Heart. 

Yuta doesn’t care much for what the stars can tell him. He’s always been one to search knowledge out with purpose and that seems to stretch to his Sight as well. He scries, using the power of the Heart Stone to amplify his Sight, mostly to keep an eye on the borders and their more tremulous allies.

He has the best skill out of almost anyone in the Southern prefectures, but he uses it almost exclusively at the request of the Royal Line and is never particularly bothered with anything personal.

Hyuck on the other hand sees futures. He follows the threads of people’s lives. He Sees things too small and vulnerable for Yuta and his scrying crystal to ever find.

And Taeil just spouts nonsense that happens to come true every now and again.

They’re the Problematic Celestials, or so Ten likes to call them.

And it’s a fair request to ask, to stay quiet, particularly since the futures they See are rarely kind. It is not a huge request to keep their hands out of their family’s lives.

And Hyuck wants to keep that promise. He doesn’t really want to meddle, except he does. He really does. Because he is far too used to knowing too much, and the happy reunion he had been hoping for still hasn’t come.

As far as any of them are aware, Taeyong has yet to even breathe the same air as Johnny in the same room for longer than the time it takes for him to leave.

And that is frankly unacceptable.

The entire coven has always known there is more to Taeyong’s missing Witch Guard than anyone seems to know. Except maybe Doyoungie.

But Hyuck had at least expected the two of them to have talked by now.

Instead Taeyong seems to be powering through his normal routine with the distinct determination to pretend Johnny simply doesn’t exist.

And that simply won’t do.

“Where are you going?” Renjun calls and Hyuck just waves his arm behind him blindly in some imitation of a wave.

“To ruin Doyoung’s day!” he calls back and grins as Renjun’s laugh follows him out of the Heart.

It doesn’t take Hyuck long to find him.

He follows the trail of ashes down into the gardens where the Witch of Hearth and Home is slumped on his back under one of the fruit trees.

He’s stopped burning things underfoot, at least, Hyuck notices as he approaches. Which is at least a good thing for the grass because Doyoung isn’t small and nobody wants a human outline burned into the lawn.

“Are you finished lingering Donghyuck?” Doyoung calls, eyes still closed and body still completely relaxed.

Hyuck swears under his breath and shuffles forward to flop down next to him. It’s only then Doyoung turns his head and cracks open one eye, frowning at Hyuck in the glare of the sunshine.

“Are you done snooping?” Doyoung asks, brow quirked and Hyuck scoffs.

“I haven’t even _started_, hyung,” he grins.

“Then perhaps you shouldn’t start at all,” Doyoung says, pushing himself upright with far more effort than the movement deserves.

“I just want to know if Taeyongie’s okay.”

“If that’s all you wanted you would have gone after him,” Doyoung says, fixing Hyuck with an unbreakable stare that makes Hyuck squirm faster than he wants to admit.

“But asking him about Johnny would just make him sad,” he counters and Doyoung sighs.

“You’re not wrong there.”

“Did Taeyongie tell you about yesterday?”  


Doyoung closes his eyes and rubs at his closed lids.

“He did. It’s not something that should be gossiped about though, Hyuck. It was an accident.”

“I know, _I _was there,” Hyuck says pointedly and Doyoung snorts.

“One day I’m going to figure out which one of those little nightmares nominated you as a Prince,” he mutters, but it’s a good natured slight and old.

Hyuck often wonders the same thing.

“If you’re here to see what I know about Taeyong and Johnny you’re wasting your time, Hyuckie,” Doyoung says, reaching out to fix Hyuck’s hair and he leans into his hyung’s touch happily.

“So, you don’t know anything,” he grins and Doyoung sighs.

“Nothing that warrants telling you,” he chides.

“But what if I could help?”

“Donghyuck,” Doyoung says, suddenly, sitting upright and his voice pitched low in quiet warning.

“What? I haven’t done anything,” he says, just to enjoy the way Doyoung frowns, eyes reduced to slits and mouth curled in a frown.

“And I am asking you not to,” Doyoung replies, which isn’t exactly what Hyuck was expecting. Or hoping for.

“But I _could_ help though, if we knew what’s coming…”

Doyoung sighs, long and low and Hyuck frowns, feeling a little hurt by Doyoung’s reaction. It’s a little thing, after all; he really does just want to help soothe away how stressed Taeyongie seems to be.

Help reunite two people who had been together almost as long as Hyuck has even been alive. It feels wrong for both Taeyong and Johnny to be back in White Stone and the two of them estranged from each other.

“Please stay out of it, Donghyuck,” Doyoung says, looking at Hyuck pointedly, eyes unblinking. “I know you want to help, but this doesn’t need your meddling.”

“Then why are _you_ meddling?” Hyuck scowls, the words slipping off his tongue before he can stop them.

Doyoung just looks tired and maybe a little bitter.

“Because I am already involved. I’ve been involved longer than you’ve known there has been a problem. This isn’t going to go away in an instant.”

“So, what? You’re going to just ignore the tools in front of you? I can _help_.”

“How many of your ethics lessons did you skip, you miscreant?” Doyoung snaps and Hyuck finds himself bristling.

“You _know_ how boring those books are. But that’s not the point, hyung. I can _help_, this is literally what I’m good at!”

“There is _always_ more danger in knowing what is ahead than staying blind. There is too much power in those cards of yours, there is more than your simple futures and _you_ should know it better than I do! Taeyong isn’t _well_, Hyuck. If you go playing with his threads you’re more likely to bring Ruin to his doorstep than the happy ending you wish to find.”

“I wouldn’t let that happen!” Hyuck replies, spluttering around the feeling of guilt that is rising up in him with every truth Doyoung aims his way.

“But it is more than your quick fingers, Donghyuck! If you cast their cards you risk cementing a future that could have been avoided. For once _stay_ your curiosity. Stay out of it!”

“I care about him too, you know!” he shouts before he can stop himself, the words spilling out like all the little fears Doyoung used to burn away when Hyuck was small.

Doyoung softens.

“If the Sun had all the answers don’t you think I would have already asked the Stars?” he says, a little sadly and Hyuck slumps. Feeling chastened.

“I know you care; I know you want to help. But leave it alone. _Please_. Just, leave Taeyong to me.”

Doyoung looks tired and sort of small as he waits for Hyuck’s answer. And it’s not like he can deny him. Not now.

Because he’s right. He’s right about it all.

He could end up doing more damage than good by looking for answers. He forgets, sometimes, how much power he has, how definitive his cards can be. Perhaps especially when the answers are at their most vague.

He nods, feeling chastened, and Doyoung’s answering smile is quiet and breakable before he turns and disappears back towards the castle.

Sulking Hyuck flops down along the low wall, closing his eyes and letting the sounds of the Heart wash over him.

It’s not that Doyoung isn’t right, because he is, and that’s probably worse.

Feeling a little sad he plucks a stray beam of sunlight out of the air and twists it into a little shrike, trying very hard not to think as he watches the tiny bird whoop and whorl overhead.

He’s so caught up in his little bit of peace that he doesn’t notice the man’s approach until a giant shadow falls across his vision, swallowing up the sky and the sunlight. He loses the concentration on his little bird when he jumps in surprise, the poor thing disappearing into a shower of sparks and Hyuck makes a disappointed groan, pushing himself up onto his elbows to see whoever it is properly and tell them off.

Except instead of someone annoying like Jaemin or Injunnie or even Chenle a handsome soldier peers down at him and flashes him a wide grin. Hyuck blinks away his shock and despite himself aims back his best winning smile.

“You’re the Sun Witch, right?” the pretty boy asks and Hyuck huffs, scrambling to sit upright properly and the moment he clears enough space the soldier perches himself on the wall right next to him.

“That’s what they call me,” he says, flashing a grin, and the soldier seems to preen, looking proud of himself.

“They said in the barracks that you can tell the future. You have special cards, right? The Deck of Many Things?”

It’s almost too much and he finds himself hesitating as he reaches into his jacket pocket for his cards. But instead of something sour the soldier’s face lights up and the unsettled feeling in Hyuck’s stomach starts to fade.

“That’s them!”

“Surely you’ve seen a Deck before?” Hyuck says, flourishing his cards unnecessarily, smearing them out over the stonework and watching the way the soldier’s eyes follow the gleam of gold leaf eagerly.

“Yeah, but Kun-ge always said that you shouldn’t listen to the cards on the wall; but this is the Witch Heart, right? It’s special here.”

“That’s one way of putting it,” Hyuck smirks.

“Everyone said that I should ask you!” the soldier beams, and Hyuck can’t help but giggle. Oh, the boys are truly awful, he thinks, to send a lamb to the slaughter like they have.

The pretty boy should have listened to his Gege, he thinks, and stayed far away from any Deck. But he clearly hasn’t asked his Kun-ge about Hyuck, because just like Doyoung said, the last person anyone should be asking to read their cards from is _him_.

The sunshine giggles as the soldier turns to sit facing Hyuck in a cascade of long limbs and awkwardly slouches out of his jacket. Hyuck is smiling all teeth as he shuffles his deck, letting the cards move themselves between his fingers and despite his sour mood there is still magic in his veins, and there is sunshine on his back. He even feels the eagerness of the cards as he spreads them out against the stones again and looks up at the poor, pretty soldier.

His breath catches however and the sunshine giggles at him this time. The soldier’s shoulders are bare, his jacket dumped to the side and Hyuck can see bare skin, sunkissed and golden.

He swallows down his surprise and his dextrous showing off suffers for it.

The soldier doesn’t seem too perturbed, watching Hyuck shuffle his cards eagerly, even if Donghyuck’s finesse is gone.

The sunshine laughs, glinting and glistening over a boy she has found just for him.

“Pick five,” Hyuck says, his tongue feeling thick in his mouth.

The soldier flashes him a smile impossibly bigger than before and Hyuck’s stomach roils, like an ocean breaching the shore, as the soldier carefully takes his pick of the deck. 

“There!” he says, proudly, holding his cards close and Hyuck sweeps the others back up just as quick.

There is a fiery curiosity in his veins as he takes the five cards from the soldier one by one and lays them out.

A Page for discovery, the Lovers for promise.

His magic prickles as he turns the next card and Hyuck swallows down his surprise as he sets down the Comet.

It’s a rare thing for his Deck to show one of the Many Things. It is a card more decisive than her brethren. An Omen Card, Yesung likes to call them. And the card knows it too, as she flashes about her borders, dancing in her frame.

A harbinger card of what will come because she has been cast. The very type of card Doyoung is worried he will cast for Taeyong.

And he is a lucky boy, this sunkissed soldier, Hyuck thinks, setting down what can only be described as the victory card.

A promise of something great, in exchange for a battle, single-handedly won.

It is one of only three cards that hold more promise than ruin out of the Many Things.

And there is promise aplenty for this boy.

The Lovers. The Page of Wands. The Comet. And two Knights.

One of Cups, and one of Swords.

Hah.

“There is something valuable ahead of you, pretty boy,” he says, and the soldier’s smile positively beams.

“Keep your wits and that charm, you’re going to need it.”

“What’s my prize then?” he asks and Hyuck snorts.

“That’s between you and her,” he says, tapping the Comet with a long, ring covered finger.

“I don’t pull a lot of these,” he admits and the boy frowns down at it, eyebrows pinched and pouting.

Adorable.

“But it’s good, right? You said there’s something valuable coming.”

“Only if you win. There’s a battle coming for you first,” Hyuck teases, flashing him his best smile as he sweeps his cards back.

“It’s going to take more than just your muscles to win this one,” he says, leaning over to tap the pretty soldier on the forehead.

The confused expression the boy is wearing is very much like the baby house cats in the larder and Hyuck giggles as he climbs to his feet.

It’s always nice when he gets to play with someone new.

No one likes hearing what he has to say much anymore; Doyoung is right to be wary.

His cards are powerful, _he_ is powerful. He doesn’t insert himself into a lot of things these days because he knows he can tip the balance one way without realising.

But he feels better now. He needed this, this plucky idiot of a boy who believes in good futures and discovery. This boy with the Comet card.

A reminder that the Deck is powerful; but she can also be kind. And he knows, deep in his gut, that if he plays his cards right then he’ll be able to help Taeyong.

He’s read Taeyongie’s cards before, after all, but only ever when the elder witch has come to him. The last time Hyuck cast Taeyongie’s deck he ended up a Witch Prince so he’s still not entirely sure what he did right or wrong.

But there are other players involved and that takes precedence.

Doyoung won’t let him near Taeyong now. That avenue is cut off.

But Hyuck has one advantage Doyoung doesn’t.

Johnny. 

Hyuck had always been Johnny’s favourite dongsaeng and while Johnny has a herd of soldiers who may have very well stolen Hyuck’s place, he’s not above exploiting that history. Not if it means getting Taeyong and him back together.

And Doyoung never asked him to stay away from the Commander.

He can’t break a promise he never made.

*

The sun is high and bright the next day when Johnny finally leaves the Heart.

Hyuck hasn’t been waiting long, but it’s still a victory when Johnny sees him and immediately heads his way.

“Hello Sunshine,” Johnny says and Hyuck beams up at him, far happier to have all of Johnny’s attention entirely on him than he really expected to be. Though this is the first time he’s had the soldier entirely to himself.

Johnny has been far too busy since his return and Hyuck has been… distracted. Seeing Johnny up close again, and having that soft smile directed entirely at him, Hyuck feels ten years old again.

For a moment, as Johnny settles himself on the low wall next to him, Donghyuck feels like the boy he was.

“Oh, how the Witch Heart has _missed_ _you_,” he says, meaning every word as his fingers slip over cards he shouldn’t be shuffling.

He hasn’t told anyone he’s doing this yet. Not even Renjun, who could swing either way and agree with Doyoungie or smack Hyuck for taking his time.

But now, in the sunshine and with Johnny sitting in front of him Hyuck feels the first lick of uncertainty sink its claws into the back of his mind.

Johnny finds the Empress first and the two of Swords and Hyuck finds himself pulling the deck close and cutting it again.

Johnny doesn’t miss a beat, his eyes glinting in the pre-noon sunlight as he laughs away Hyuck’s anxiety.

“So, you’ve got a lot better at this have you?” Johnny teases.

Hyuck flashes him a smile, fingers sluicing through his deck with ease.

He has.

He’s come a terrifyingly long way since he last read Johnny’s cards and as much as Doyoung has warned him clear of his ignorance, Hyuck knows what his magic does. He knows what this sort of thing means. Reading people’s futures.

And he is careful as he offers Johnny the deck again.

Two cards down, three to go.

Hyuck watches as Johnny’s gaze slides over the unturned cards in Hyuck’s hands, drawing towards one and then another and then the last.

Just like that, it’s done.

*

It’s clear by dinner that Doyoung knows Hyuck has done something.

He can feel Doyoung glaring at him from across the table and so he shoves his mouth too full to talk and shoots him a full-cheeked smile. He eats too quickly that he'll probably have a stomach ache later, but he makes it out of the hall without being cornered and takes it as a victory.

Not that he escapes completely unscathed.

And really, he should know better, because nothing ever goes unseen in the Heart.

And so instead of Doyoung, Yuta is the one waiting for him when Hyuck lets himself back into his rooms nearly an hour later.

“Hello, Hyuckie,” he grins, an edge to his smile that has Hyuck immediately backing up a step or two, feeling like he’s seven years old and caught red handed stealing from the kitchens three days after he’d first arrived.

Yuta has that effect on him, especially since he’s a dramatic ass who likes lurking in shadows and scattering stardust everywhere he goes.

“I didn’t do it,” he says on impulse and Yuta barks a laugh.

“No, I don’t think you have,” Yuta grins and tosses Hyuck the oracle he’s been toying with. A gift Yuta gave Hyuck when he first arrived at the Heart and something he’s never used but still likes to keep.

“But I know what you _have_ done,” Yuta winks.

Hyuck just makes a face as Yuta pushes himself up off the cupboard and starts walking closer.

“You do know that when Doyoung asked you to leave Taeyong alone he meant not to meddle at all, right?”

“I haven’t meddled,” Hyuck says, feeling the lie burn along his tongue as he says it and he’s not sure if it’s Yuta’s doing or his own magic.

Either way the amused smile on the elder Witch’s face does nothing to hamper the urge to keep lying.

“Duckling, every time the Heart is too quiet Taeil starts sprouting nonsense. Let’s leave our Illie alone, shall we?”

The urge is there, the words curling under Hyuck’s breastbone where he’s kept them close ever since he cast Johnny’s cards.

But he still isn’t sure if he regrets it yet and spilling everything to Yuta, Yuta who knows Hyuck’s desires to _know_ better than anyone else in the Heart. But also Yuta who has been Doyoung’s for almost as long as Taeyong has been alone.

Yuta, whose stars guide anyone home.

“So, what did Johnny’s cards say?” Yuta asks, perching on the arm rest of Hyuck’s uncomfortable chaise lounge and flashing him with a familiar, charming smile that Hyuck has always envied. It really is far too powerful for how blithely Yuta uses it.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Hyuck says, looking Yuta right in the eyes as he says it and tries valiantly to stamp down the rush of pride when Yuta throws his head back and cackles.

“Oh Hyuckie, I’m not going to tell Doyoung. I know far too well what prices we pay to know what we shouldn’t.”

“Does Doyoung-hyung know you’re here?” Hyuck asks and the expression Yuta shoots him is indecipherable and he feels the calculating stare of a Witch far more powerful than he seems. Yuta carries the power of the stars in his fingertips after all. He hides his powers behind flare and flash.

“Does he need to know?”

Hyuck thinks of Johnny’s cards.

The uncertainty, the _promise_.

“No,” Hyuck says and reaches for his deck.

*

Donghyuck very rarely ever sees anyone twice.

Once he’s read their cards, people have no use to ever search him out again.

He likes to pretend he prefers it that way; but there are those whose stories he is curious to know how they have ended. Futures he’s hoped, in part, to see.

But while his own curiosity keeps that secret desire burning, he never expects those he helps to think of him again.

So, he’s a little taken aback when the pretty soldier flops down on the wall next to him, beaming like he’s found something wonderful.

His smile is strangely infectious and Hyuck finds himself anticipating whatever this large idiot has to say instead of dreading it like he normally would.

Perhaps it’s the cards he pulled; after all its been years since someone pulled the Comet from Hyuck’s own deck. Or perhaps it’s the way the soldier seems to focus his entire attention on him without pause. It’s almost too much to bear, the way the world seems to quiet, the way the sunshine tickles down his spine.

“I asked what the cards meant!” the soldier says, looking proud of himself.

Hyuck laughs and tries to smother his disappointment under something frail.

“And?”

“Yangyang says he thinks I’m going to fight a bear,” the soldier says, wrinkling his nose and Hyuck can’t help but laugh in surprise. The image forms itself, really, some shadow of the morning scuffles Hyuck has seen from the windows of the Heart. Captain Jung replaced with a bulk of fur and claws.

“Your friend is a bit of an idiot, isn’t he?” he pokes, snidely. The soldier giggles, a full rounded laugh that makes him shrink in on himself and expand almost simultaneously and Donghyuck cannot help but be enthralled by it.

“Yeah,” Xuxi grins, proud of his friend’s accomplishment.

“Why a bear?” Hyuck asks, curious and still more amused than perplexed.

“They show up sometimes, near the wall. I think he and Kunhang have a bet going, so, I don’t know. I don’t trust his motivations.”

“Well from my expert Seeing skills I can confidently say it’s unlikely your battle is against a bear. Unless bear pelts are ridiculously valuable where you’re from.”

“I mean they cost a lot, but I think they do everywhere? I have to say I’m glad for your expert opinion. I mean, I’m pretty sure it’s gotta be a pretty big battle if the prize is the sun.”

Hyuck laughs.

“What makes you think you can win the sun?”

The soldier just grins, flashing Hyuck a giddy wink.

“I’m just that good,” he preens, and Hyuck can’t help but laugh again, the feeling in his chest bubbly and alight.

The soldier’s grin fades a little and he offers Hyuck a hand. A very large and very calloused hand.

“I’m Xuxi,” he says and Hyuck settles, falling quiet and his confusion must be plain on his face because Xuxi blushes.

“I just realised that we keep talking and I still don’t know your name.”

And oh, it’s so _earnest_, so genuine a thing and Hyuck doesn’t quite know what to make of it. Because this pretty soldier, this Xuxi, shouldn’t keep coming back to him, but he does.

“I thought you’d talked about me enough to know my name,” he teases instead, ignoring the delighted burn of sunlight on his back, and the soldier blushes some more.

“I want to hear it from you, though,” the soldier says shyly and Hyuck’s stomach drops. He giggles, a nervous spark of astonishment that seems to bubble out of him.

And the Sunshine seems to laugh.

“My name is Donghyuck,” he says, and Xuxi’s smile is wide and beaming.

*

The soldiers have been back at White Stone for nearly five days already, and it seems that Johnny, despite Hyuck’s meddling, isn’t doing anything about his Taeyong problem.

Instead, he seems to be spending far too much time hitting things and going through drills than he does being very proactive.

Not once has Hyuck run into him in the Heart, or in the halls of the castle unless he’s been busy talking politics with Leeteuk, or strategy with Jongin and Taemin.

Instead of being very forthright he just seems to be avoiding his problems and spending too much time training instead of working towards winning Taeyongie back.

And frankly it’s starting to show.

It’s even been getting to Doyoung, or so Yuta had said that morning, laughing at the shadow of his glowering boyfriend, starlight glinting between the folds of his ridiculous midnight robes.

Still, the imminent threat of Doyoung chewing Johnny out is just enough to make Hyuck keep the lanky commander in sight.

But no matter how much he’s missed him there is only so long Hyuck can pay attention to Johnny when, despite his good intentions, he recognises a pair of broad shoulders and a giddy booming laugh.

Even from a distance Xuxi is easy to find, he seems to pull attention towards himself without trying.

Hyuck really should be watching _Johnny_. After all he had come out here to see what exactly the giant lumbering oaf of a Commander has done about the lingering storm cloud still hanging over White Stone.

The clouds are more figurative than literal, thankfully. Taeyong seems to be holding that in now Johnny is actually within the confines of the city.

But the feeling is the same.

But while Hyuck may have come down here for Johnny, watching Xuxi is _far_ more interesting.

He doesn’t know quite how long he’s been wedged into the window ledge, but his legs have both gone to sleep when Jaemin nearly scares him out of his wits.

“There you are!” he beams, and it takes Hyuck an obscenely long amount of time to realise why he’s waiting for something else to happen that never does because Jaemin is missing his shadow.

“Where’s Brutus Maximus?” he asks peering at the empty spot Jeno usually occupies and Jaemin shrugs.

“Practice. Siwon wants to make a good impression on Johnny’s soldiers so he keeps making everyone do double training.”

“Gross,” Hyuck says, wrinkling his nose. Jeno gets lazy when he works too much and all he does is lay all over Jaemin like a dog who stinks because he says he misses him too much to go down to the springs by himself.

“What’re you doing?” Jaemin asks, cocking his head to the side as he peers over Hyuck’s shoulder like he can see exactly what Donghyuck is looking at.

He hopes he can’t, because he was looking at Xuxi working through his one on one combat drills for the third time. He’s very sweaty and very shiny and Hyuck is trying really hard not to think about how impressively attractive the soldier is.

“Thinking,” he says as non-committal as possible.

“Uh huh,” Jaemin grins.

“Sometimes subtlety is your friend, Hyuckie.”

“How would you know that? You’re the least subtle person I know,” Hyuck replies, almost on instinct.

“Come with me,” Jaemin replies with a shit eating grin, grabbing Hyuck’s hand and pulling him bodily out of the window frame without warning. Hyuck squawks and wobbles like a baby deer while the blood rushes back into his legs.

It’s always a little disconcerting how strong Jaemin is. He looks like a beanpole.

“Why are you like this?” he scowls as pins and needles run through his legs and he winces at the feeling; Jaemin just shrugs, still beaming.

“Because I’m amazing,” he says and tugs relentlessly on Hyuck’s hand to get him to follow along, back along the promenade and away from the training ground.

“Excuse me but there were cute boys I was looking at,” he mutters sourly the further away they get and Jaemin laughs.

“I know, and you’re never allowed to say I don’t do anything for you after this.”

This turns out to be making Hyuck climb up a goddamn tree and scuttle along the wall like a crab, but when he gets to the spot Jaemin tells him to stop at he looks back at his friend with wide eyes and finds Jaemin looking smug.

“I found this spot years ago, when they banned me from the practice yard,” Jaemin beams as he follows Hyuck up to what can only be the perfect spot to watch the soldiers without sitting blatantly out in the open like Hyuck had been five minutes before.

“Does Jeno know about it?”

“He knows I have somewhere,” Jaemin grins, wiggling his eyebrows.

“You’re _gross_,” Hyuck says but he doesn’t mean it because he knows the real reason Jaemin watches the training grounds. How he’s had Jeno teaching him how to fight behind Siwon’s back for years now, but Jaemin still likes to be present. Still likes to watch Jeno learn so that he knows what he’s in for.

The elder Witches don’t want him training with the soldiers anymore; it doesn’t matter how well his back healed.

Jaemin sticks his tongue out and settles himself happily next to Hyuck on the top of the wall.

It really is a perfect line of sight into the training field, he admits begrudgingly, almost better than where he’d been on the promenade and definitely more subtle than literally framing himself in the window.

He has a perfect line of sight to Xuxi and his friends and can even see the Witch Guard at the opposite side of the arena. Now that Jaemin pointed it out, it’s obvious they’re showing off for the returned soldiers. They’re going through their own sparring, being all formal and menacing and there are plenty of the returned soldiers paying attention to the Guard, letting their bravado get the best of them despite the fact the soldiers have seen more warfare in a month on the wall than most of the Guard ever will.

Unless they follow a Witch to the front lines, the Witch Guard never even see the wall, let alone the scrums.

However not everyone is paying attention to the bragging. Xuxi’s entourage are still play fighting in their undershirts and hyping each other up through small bets and competitions like they were when Jaemin dragged him off.

They don’t seem to have even stopped for a moment, and Hyuck lets himself smile as he watches Xuxi pick up the small one over his shoulder and try and make a run for it.

It’s stupid and he can hear the enormous laugh from where he’s sitting and something tugs in his chest he doesn’t have a name for.

Jaemin laughs beside him and Hyuck keeps his gaze straight ahead because if Jaemin is laughing at _him_ he might come apart at the seams and this is embarrassing enough.

“I mean, he’s _pretty_,” Jaemin hums and Hyuck makes a high-pitched sound in his throat that makes Jaemin cackle.

They fall quiet not long after, Jaemin’s gaze fixating on Jeno and Hyuck watches Xuxi. There’s no point pretending otherwise, every time he looks away he inevitably lets his gaze draw back to the tall soldier with a giddy, booming laugh and a smile that makes something flutter in Hyuck’s stomach.

He definitely has a problem, he thinks.

“What’s stopping you?” Jaemin asks like he can read Hyuck’s mind. Though what’s worse is his tone of voice, in the soft and tempered way Jaemin speaks when he’s not being completely annoying. It always blindsides Hyuck because he hates talking about things that matter, and Jaemin knows that. It’s one of the foundational pillars of their friendship that Jaemin doesn’t do this.

_This_ being asking questions Hyuck doesn’t have any answers for.

His magic is all warmth and vitality; it makes admitting things Hyuck doesn’t ever want to admit appallingly easy, and the worst part is that Jaemin never means to do it.

It’s part of who he is; his magic is part of who he _is_.

He inspires life in people. Love and joy, happiness and strength, compassion and courage.

All things Hyuck is afraid of.

“An omen card,” he says instead and blatantly ignores the little light that flares in Jaemin’s eyes and the soft curl in the corner of his lips.

“Oh,” Jaemin replies and doesn’t poke any further.

Hyuck takes it as the victory it isn’t.

*

As it turns out, it only takes Jaemin roughly six hours of knowing something he shouldn’t before he makes Hyuck want to kill him.

Hyuck has, more for his own sake than Johnny’s, been keeping his readings quiet. In fact, he hasn’t even told Injunnie yet that he managed to read Johnny’s cards.

But somehow the overlap with Xuxi is what becomes his undoing.

“There he is! Dead Man Walking!” Jaemin crows almost the moment Hyuck walks through the doors to his own rooms to find all three of his friends perched in front of the fire looking in various states of smugness.

Hyuck stops, contemplating for a moment turning around and leaving again, but they’re in his room and he’s not surrendering that far.

“What are you on about?” he complains as he let the door swing shut behind him, eyes stuck on Jaemin because it has, after all, only been a handful of hours since Hyuck saw him last and its clear from his expression that Jaemin is the ringleader here.

Still, he’s not quite prepared for what Injunnie says next.

“Jaemin spent most of the afternoon trying to figure out who your boy is,” Renjun supplies and Hyuck’s stomach jolts in something akin to sheer dread and then spikes again with a panicked anger.

“This is why I only hang out with you because I like Jeno,” he says, spinning around to sneer at Jaemin who just cackles again.

“Well suck it. I know who your boy is now, and you’re _screwed_, Duckie.”

“How am I screwed?” he asks blithely, making a face as he flops face down on the rug in front of the fire and wishing very much for the floor to simply absorb him into it entirely so he can cease to exist.

“Because Johnny is going to kick your ass; Mark says Xuxi is one of Kun’s boys.”

“I have no idea what any of that means,” Hyuck huffs, ignoring the way his stomach jolts again at the way Jaemin sort of butchers Xuxi’s name. It doesn’t flow off the tongue the way it does when Xuxi introduced himself, the way it does in Hyuck’s head every time he looks the other boys’ way.

Jaemin scoffs.

“It means he’s one of Johnny’s inner circle and you’re lucky Johnny doesn’t know you cut his cards,” Jeno says, not even looking up from his book and Jaemin points at Jeno, nodding as if to say what he said.

Hyuck groans. There really is no point in denying it. Jaemin took far more from their time on the wall than Hyuck thought he had, and he hates that he let himself play right into Jaemin’s hands.

Because whatever this thing he has is, it’s new and his and he hates how fragile he feels every time he even thinks the soldier’s name.

“He asked; it’s not like I forced him or anything!” Hyuck replies bitterly, thinking of how eagerly Xuxi had asked him.

“You know that’s not the point,” Renjun points out and Hyuck makes a frustrated noise.

“He found me. The other soldiers are the ones who told him where to go. I just did as I was asked.”

“That’s not going to matter when Johnny drags you out into the yard and makes you do drills,” Jaemin replies gleefully and Hyuck makes a face at him.

“He can’t do that anymore, I’m a prince, remember?”

Jaemin looks a little crestfallen and Renjun laughs at Jaemin’s disappointment.

“Besides, it wasn’t even that bad a reading. Johnny’s was worse,” Hyuck scowls and flops back down with a _whumph_ only to find Jaemin peering over him expectantly a moment later.

“You didn’t say you’d read Johnny’s cards,” He says gleefully and Hyuck winces.

Oh shit.

So much for secrecy.

He smiles up at Jaemin sweetly.

“Did I say that? I don’t think I did,” he says, sliding out from under Jaemin.

“You’re in for it now,” Jeno says, in that same disinterested monotone, but Hyuck knows he’s watching giddily over the top of his book. Renjun is far less interested in looking preoccupied and cackles as Jaemin pulls Hyuck down and tries sitting on him.

“Duckie, you _liar_! I can’t believe you were going to keep that from us. From me!”

“It’s not my place!”

“That’s never stopped you before,” Jeno snipes and Hyuck throws him a dirty look, but Jeno’s just laughing happily at Jaemin’s obnoxious cajoling.

“Taeyong nearly _denied_ him through the Hollow Gates,” Renjun throws in and Hyuck whines. Betrayers. Mutineers. Dirty _Gossips_.

“Literally everyone wants to know what’s going on and you were going to keep it secret,” Jaemin pouts, putting on his aegyo voice and Hyuck doubles his efforts to get out from underneath Jaemin, but he’s twice as heavy as he looks and Hyuck hates how weak he is by comparison.

Maybe he should stop eating sweets and join them for Jaemin’s secret drills.

“I didn’t say anything because I don’t want Doyoung to know,” he blurts out as Jaemin moves from baby talk to kissy faces and Jaemin squawks sadly.

“Told you Doyoung was already involved,” Jeno laughs and Jaemin lets out a long groan.

“So why are we keeping secrets from our darling most-favouritest hyung?” Jaemin asks, voice back to his high-pitched babying whine.

“Because he told me I shouldn’t help and to stay out of it.”

“You know that wasn’t a challenge, right? He genuinely wants you to stay out of it,” Jeno says with the common sense Doyoung has spent the last ten years drilling into him. but he is also doing a terrible job of not looking amused.

“Look, everybody wants them to get back together and I know I’m not the only one meddling, so I really don’t see the problem here,” Hyuck says.

“That’s true. Jungwoo said he saw Yuta on the balustrade threatening Johnny the morning after they got here,” Jaemin says, pouting at Jeno like he wants something, eyes wide.

Jeno sighs.

“Jisung said Johnny’s inner circle kept teasing him about it when he escorted them all down to the Springs last night.”

“Oh, Mercy be, you all gossip like _old Witch Guard_,” Hyuck complains, finally admitting defeat and Jaemin bounces where he’s still sitting on Hyuck’s stomach and he wheezes.

“Gerroff,” he says with a shove and Jaemin lets himself get thrown off in exchange for pillaging Hyuck’s pockets for his cards.

He’s one of only a few Hyuck lets anywhere near them and it still sparks a little anxiety in him to see someone else filtering through them.

Everyone’s decks are different, unique to them from the cards themselves and their meanings to the art and sourcing of materials.

Half the magic in them is in their individual creation and Hyuck spent over a year producing his Deck.

The only reason Jaemin and Injunnie are allowed to touch the cards are because they helped him make them. His deck wouldn’t be anywhere near as pretty without Renjun helping him design them, or as powerful without Jaemin helping him with the spells. Even Jeno helped get him the ink he wanted from the western sea ports.

“So! Which ones did Johnny pull? I bet it was the Scales. Oh! Or the Comet! Was it the Comet?”

Hyuck frowns and aims a gentle shove at Jaemin.

“It wasn’t the Comet,” he says, thinking instead of Xuxi.

The boy with sunkissed shoulders, a kind heart and a victory card.

“He pulled out The Empress and Justice,” he says and Jaemin winces.

“Which way, though?” Renjun asks.

“And the Scholar, too,” he says, answering Jaemin’s earlier demand instead and Hyuck can tell Renjun knows he’s not replying on purpose.

“Ouch,” someone mutters and Hyuck makes a face.

“It’s not that bad, honestly. Doyoungie said they just need to talk when he was yelling at me, and the cards seem to agree with him.”

“And what, they haven’t talked in five years?” Jaemin says.

“I don’t think Taeyongie would be flooding the pastures if they had, Minnie,” Jeno replies and Jaemin’s expression falls, his inexcusable happiness finally giving way to reality.

“You read the cards again though, right? You asked what we need to do, right?” Jaemin asks, sitting upright and staring dolefully at Hyuck.

“Patience and endurance and The Eye.”

Jaemin’s expression falls.

“Have you ever told the Sun she’s insufferable?” he huffs and Hyuck laughs.

“You’re gonna get rained on.”

“We’re _all_ gonna get rained on. Taeyong’s _sad_ and his boyfriend is home which is making things worse. Who let Johnny join the army anyway? That was stupid. I bet it was his idea,” Jaemin mutters climbing up off the floor to slump as much of himself over Jeno as possible, as if reminding the universe who he belongs to.

Jeno just smiles contentedly and gives Jaemin’s hair a gentle pat and Hyuck has to look away at the burn of jealousy that flares up in him.

Mercy be, he _hates_ this.

“Doyoungie said he’s going to get Taeyong and Johnny to talk. I don’t think we need to do anything until then at least,” he says and Jaemin is the one to harrumph this time.

“Hopefully that doesn’t take too long otherwise Johnny might do something stupid again,” he mutters darkly, and Hyuck tries very hard not to agree.

*

It takes three days before Johnny does in fact do something stupid.

Most of it Hyuck spends trying not to think about pretty boys who take their shirt off almost every day. Especially since Johnny ruined everything by telling him their stay is only temporary.

He’s not sure when exactly his idle attraction to Xuxi had turned into something with feelings he doesn’t like thinking about, but learning that Xuxi has to go back to the wall and there’s nothing Hyuck can do about it, gives him far too much to think about and far too many feelings to be good company in the slightest.

He spends too much time in the town square luring stupid soldiers in with flashy card tricks and lights and taking particular joy in ensuring far too many of them pick the Joker from his deck. The Wall is going to be awash with chaos for months at this rate and he can’t wait until Teukie has to figure out if it was Heechul making mischief or someone else.

It doesn’t help much, because without the barriers of the Heart getting in the way Xuxi takes it as an open invitation and likes to sit beside him and watch, peering over his shoulder expectantly at each hand and asking questions after every turn about his particular favourites.

Not many people have ever shown a lot of interest in Hyuck’s Cards; it’s an old fashioned way of using his Sight and more common amongst Hedgewitches and cardsharks. Yuta can See better than Hyuck can, and his scrying only amplifies it if he wants to find something in particular.

But for individual futures, for chasing the red threads of an individual person’s life? No one beats Hyuck and his Deck.

It’s nice, for that to be acknowledged as something wonderful.

“Why can’t you read mine again?” Xuxi whines, brushing the corner of a card with a full pout.

Hyuck makes a face and plucks the cards out of reach.

He can, technically. Nothing actually stops him from casting the cards as many times as he wants. But it has its risks, especially for lines that aren’t defined.

If Xuxi draws another one of the Many Things he could draw a dozen things far worse than the Comet. A battle single-handedly won for something great is a future Hyuck wants him to keep.

And he’s also afraid.

Because if Xuxi is going back to the Wall then that future could be short and that is something he doesn’t want to know.

So, he lies.

“The future isn’t going to change because you keep picking cards,” he sneers and Xuxi sighs.

“Can you do the trick again, then?” he whines and Hyuck scrunches his face up in consternation because it makes Xuxi’s victory seem a little sweeter when he agrees, and it makes his giddy laughter feel brighter.

The sun shines happiest when Xuxi is happy, Hyuck finds, and Hyuck is happiest when it’s brightest.

*

The Heart is never quiet, never silent.

And while Hyuck has let his own focus slip away from the lingering melancholy caused by Taeyong and Johnny, it seems the Heart has not.

In meddling with Johnny, Hyuck has knotted his hands full of the red threads of this particular future and the Heart will not let him escape because he has distracted himself with a boy.

He has, like he promised, stayed away from Taeyong. And despite Yuta’s meddling, and the misplaced eagerness of his friends, Hyuck is proud he has managed to hold up that part of his promise.

But not once does he consider that Taeyong would be the one to seek him out.

Taeyong is someone Hyuck rarely sees inside the confines of the Witches private wing, after all. He is a reliable face in the Heart, always easy to find and eager to please. Hyuck can’t actually think of a time where Taeyong has been the one to seek him out, let alone at his own door.

But there are shadows under his hyung’s eyes and a familiar desperation in his gaze that has called far too many lonesome souls to call on the Sun Witch before and Hyuck doesn't have the heart to turn Taeyongie away.

Hyuck has seen the same look in lost soldiers and lonely widows, in those left behind and those desperate to leave.

Hyuck has seen Taeyong’s worries in a thousand other souls and his heart aches for all of them.

“Can I come in, Donghyuckie?” Taeyong asks, arms wrapped around his waist, fists pulled tight in a silk robe the colour of storm clouds.

Hyuck nods and lets Taeyong in, but his hyung doesn’t move any further than the door. He keeps his back pressed against ashwood and his nerves close like a shroud.

There is only quiet between them, hanging in the air like spiderwebs and the longer it lingers the more Hyuck sees.

There is tension down Taeyong’s spine and a thousand secrets crawling along the inside of his wrists like runes. Hyuck can see what Doyoung meant that day, in the rose garden. Taeyong’s threads are weak, vulnerable.

It has been days since Hyuck has seen Taeyong except in the very Heart itself, and Taeyong has been a monument. He wears the same look as he does when he leaves for the Black City, or when an entourage comes to meet with the Witch Princes of White Stone.

He has been dressed for War and Hyuck has let it slip him by, too busy keeping his promise to Doyoung that he almost lost sight of why he’s been doing this in the first place.

Taeyong.

Hyuck has let his curiosity blind him and still Taeyong has come to _him_, stripped of his armour and the guilt Hyuck is feeling suddenly is almost blinding.

“You read Johnny his cards?” Taeyong asks and the words hang between them quietly and they are neither quite a question nor a demand, merely a beginning.

Hyuck tries to keep his face blank but he knows he looks guilty.

Taeyong doesn’t look surprised, his expression barely shifts at all. He’s come here, after all, knowing Hyuck probably has. It’s not that much of a stretch, given who they are.

Hyuck is nosy.

And Johnny hasn’t been part of the Coven for five years. Hyuck hasn’t broken any promises.

“Would you tell me, if I asked?” Taeyong asks and that is not quite what Hyuck is expecting and it feels like his stomach flops over unpleasantly.

He thinks of Johnny’s cards and sees their echo standing in front of him.

He thinks of the Scholar and the Two of Swords. Of barriers and fear.

There is so much _promise_, but Taeyong is too afraid to see it and Hyuck sees more than he’d like.

Taeyong is here for the wrong reasons and Donghyuck is smart enough to recognise it now.

“No,” he says, feeling brave.

Taeyong lets out a long breath and seems to slump, his shoulders sagging and letting his head fall against the door. He looks sort of brittle, and Donghyuck hates it.

Taeyong has never been eternal.

He has always stood tall, but he has never seemed… untouchable. No one here at the Heart really does. Hyuck has been here too long to hold his esteem close enough to actually fear any of them.

Hyuck has seen every one of his brothers struggle with their magic before, stutter in their lessons and swear at their failures. Has seen Taeyong shoving Doyoung up a tree by his ass and seen Yuta fall out of one on his face.

Taeyong is not untouchable; he is far too kind, too caring for that. Donghyuck cherishes him far too much to ever give him a burden like that.

But perhaps he has still never seen Taeyong properly before. The person stripped bare of his magic and his responsibilities. Of even the guise of elder brotherhood.

Perhaps this is what it is like to be trusted, Donghyuck thinks as he watches Taeyong let out a long shaky breath and offer Hyuck a wobbly smile.

“Thank you, Donghyuck-ah,” Taeyong murmurs, a quiet, fragile thing that Donghyuck holds close to his heart as Taeyong lets himself out.

*

Donghyuck doesn’t sleep particularly well after Taeyong leaves.

The look on his face chases Hyuck well into the early morning and he turns his back on the windows and sleeps through the dawn.

He ends up slipping out into the rose garden well after noon and climbing out over the wall to avoid running into anyone he doesn’t want to. However, he doesn’t even get close enough to the city before he runs straight into a thick barrel chest and when he looks up with an excuse on his tongue it shrivels and dies under Xuxi’s surprised grin.

“We really have to stop meeting like this,” he beams and Hyuck is vibrantly aware of the feeling of Xuxi's large hands bracing against his waist.

He awkwardly trips backwards out of Xuxi’s grip and tries to make his face twist into an actual expression. Because he might be trying to escape most of the people he loves right now, but standing in Xuxi’s enormous shadow, he quickly realises those terms do not extend to Xuxi himself.

And it has nothing to do with how much he likes the pretty soldier. Because he does. He really, really does.

Still, his attempt at being a human seems to work because Xuxi’s expression doesn’t fall and he still looks happy to have found Hyuck, even if he’s in the middle of an escape.

“You need to stop getting in the way of my escape plans, then,” Hyuck says, his tongue feeling a little thick in his mouth. He just feels… unsettled. Sort of off, and even the Sunshine isn’t enough to soothe it away.

But the way Xuxi offers him his arm, crooked at the elbow like he’s offering to escort him into the Obsidian Ballroom at the centre of the Black City.

Well that makes something small and fragile start to bloom in the hollow cavern of his chest.

“Care for an accomplice?” Xuxi beams and Hyuck smiles, slipping his arm into Xuxi’s.

“Only if it’s you,” he says and laughs at the embarrassed noise Xuxi lets out.

He still isn’t used to how nice it feels being in Xuxi’s company, how _easy_ it feels. The world still feels out of balance, not necessarily wrong, but not quite right either. There is a lingering guilt he can’t quite forget after speaking with Taeyong last night and yet in Xuxi’s presence the feeling of it is somewhat quieter.

And frankly Hyuck will take anything he can get.

They end up wandering up into the city, Xuxi leading him with new eyes through the streets Hyuck has lived nearly all his life. Happily sharing each of his new discoveries in the days he has been stationed here at Whitestone.

It’s afternoon by the time they turn back towards the castle, but as much as Hyuck wants right then to share the Heart with Xuxi, to share in more of the soldier’s delighted discoveries, it is the one place forbidden to him. The one sanctity even Hyuck is unwilling to break.

The castle is open territory, but the Heart belongs only to the Witches and the Witch Guard.

He’s still feeling twitchy and sort of unsettled and even Xuxi’s hapless optimism isn’t quite enough to calm away the feeling as he turns them down towards the lower gardens and Hyuck tries to ignore the way Xuxi’s hand feels every time he brushes against Hyuck’s own.

But he can’t, not when things just feel _off_ and the feeling is vibrantly present and impossible to ignore anymore. What has been subtle and almost forgettable for hours suddenly _isn’t_ any more and he comes to a complete stop, attention slipping away from the golden-hearted boy staring down at him.

“Are you okay?” Xuxi asks, except Hyuck can’t answer as a cold lick of dread runs down his spine.

_A storm is coming_, the Sunshine whispers urgently, and he looks up just in time to watch as the almost cloudless sky starts to _roil_, faint wisps of white congealing into a thickening mass that grows darker by the second. 

There is a feeling in the air that is familiar. This storm is not natural, that much is clear. The sky is darkening faster than should be possible and Hyuck’s stomach drops.

The air turns cold and sharp and a strong gust of wind rattles through the garden like an omen.

“What on earth?” Xuxi gasps, eyes wide in growing fear as he stares at the quickly blackening sky.

_He’s hurting_; the Sun murmurs. _It is too much, too much. It hurts too much. _

Donghyuck has lived in White Stone long enough to know Taeyong’s storms well but the Sun has never sounded so sad. Never given reason behind the abject change in weather.

“_Taeyongie_,” Hyuck murmurs mournfully, reaching out for Xuxi without thinking. There are warm hands wrapping around him then, and he grips them tight, fingers white against Xuxi’s uniform as the storm builds with frightening intensity.

“Hyuck, what’s going on?” Xuxi asks, eyes wide and glittering, but before Hyuck can answer the warning bell starts to sound and barely a moment later the rain starts to come down.

It’s bitterly cold and hard, coming down like a sheet in large heavy droplets that hurt as they hit bare skin and the two of them are drenched almost immediately. With his hand wrapped tight around Hyuck’s own, Xuxi starts to pull them back towards the castle proper, eyes on the sky, round and afraid, but his stride is long and there is not enough fear to hold him still.

Hyuck still feels frozen, his brain fogged with the sudden surge of magic in the air, the turbulent cacophony of the sky, roiling and alive and his body is cold under the icy deluge.

They are just shy of the Hollow Gates when the world starts to slide back into focus, the sound of shouting slowly building as Hyuck feels his head finally start to clear.

“Everyone to the town! Go! Go!” Captain Donghae is shouting, standing in the open gates of the Heart with Hyuckjae at his back as he directs scores of harried Witch Guard and soldier alike.

Xuxi reacts immediately, his soldier’s instincts taking him three steps away from Donghyuck before his grip on Hyuck’s hand pulls taut and he realises his mistake and turns back.

“Go,” Hyuck tells him, letting go of Xuxi’s hand and still Xuxi hesitates.

“_Go!_ I’m safe here,” Hyuck says, backing up towards the Heart and watches the conflict on Xuxi’s face before the first roll of thunder cracks overhead. Xuxi flinches, eyes flickering up where the charcoal sweep of clouds are turning the world black and the first lash of lightning rends the sky.

“Go! They need you up there more than I do!” Hyuck urges and that’s what it finally takes as Xuxi gives in and makes a mad dash for the stairs leading up to the city, following the growing line of soldiers. Donghyuck listens to the muffled shouting from the town as he watches Xuxi disappear, swallowed by the rain after only a few metres.

And the storm just seems to keep building, the rain pelting down in sheets, the sky flashing bright as lightning shatters down from the clouds once more.

And there is just so much magic in the air. Hyuck’s forearms are prickling as his runes _churn _under his skin and still the storm keeps building.

The Witch Heart is crying out. It’s the only way to describe it as she suffers the turbulence of Taeyong’s storm. The air is thick with heartache and anger and it makes him want to shrink in on himself, burrow away somewhere small and safe and dry.

But the whispering of the Sun is enough to keep him focused.

_Run_, she says, _you are needed._

The feeling burns along the back of his neck and while everybody is still heading for the courtyard up towards the city Hyuck finds himself turning back, turning east up towards the promenade.

His feet follow a path made for him and he knows this is where he needs to be. His runes prickle as he catches sight of Heechul ordering the staff along the crossguard.

"_Hyung!"_

Heechul freezes and searches Hyuck out of the crowd like a wolf tasting the air. Relief runs through him, powerful and strong, as Heechul catches him and pulls him in close.

“What is it, Donghyuck-ah?” he asks in all seriousness, calm and contained and Hyuck appreciates the steady hum of his hyung’s voice.

“Something’s wrong. Something’s wrong at the southern gate,” he says, the words tasting like sunshine.

“The southern gate?” Heechul parrots and Hyuck nods.

Heechul stands up and calls for the quartermaster to keep herding the staff. He takes up Hyuck by the hand and lets Hyuck lead him down towards the southern-most gardens where the Witchwood leads out into the main forest.

The storm is rattling against the windowpanes even down here, the lower corridors eerily cold and Hyuck shivers and quickens his pace.

Heechul doesn’t complain, limping along behind him with the same vigour as before and Hyuck appreciates that he is being taken so seriously.

His magic is still churning, still anxiously flooding his veins as the Sun whispers for him to hurry.

But they are right where they need to be, Hyuck knows, as they reach the storeroom. The walls are lined in drying herbs and tinctures from the witchwood and it smells thick with dirt and decay. But it doesn’t take long before the gate opens and Yuta hurries forward to hold it wide for a struggling Doyoung, a Doyoung who has a limp and sodden Taeyong over his shoulders.

Donghyuck’s heart thumps painfully in his chest and he makes an urgent push forward to help only for Yuta to pull him in close and give Doyoung room.

"Oh, my _boys_," Heechul croons, limping forward to take Taeyong’s hand between his own and press his lips to his palm.

"I've got him," Doyoung huffs and Heechul clicks his tongue but stands back for Doyoung to carry him past before turning his attention back on Donghyuck.

"Donghyuck-ah we are going to need Renjun," Heechul orders, as Yuta gives Hyuck a gentle squeeze and goes after Doyoung. 

But Hyuck clenches his jaw and makes a bid to follow after him; he doesn't want to go anywhere that isn’t where Doyoung is carrying Taeyongie.

“Then send a bird or something," he says, his voice catching in his throat while he stares after the hunched shadow of his hyungs, his heart cracking.

"Donghyuck-ah," Heechul says, forcibly pulling Hyuck’s gaze away with a crooked finger under his chin and he makes a clenched cry in protest.

"Taeyong needs Renjunnie and I need Yuta. _Please_, duckling," Heechul pleads, looking down at him and Donghyuck hates this.

“She sent me to help, I can help – “ he tries, but Heechul only leans forward.

“And this is how. We need Renjun, and I cannot run; you can.”

It’s a little bit of a low blow; a tempered, easy manipulation that even Hyuck can see amuses Heechul more than anything. He hates that it’s the truth, that it works so easily and so well.

He glances up the stairs where Doyoung is almost a shadow, hurriedly taking Taeyong up towards their apartments.

He clenches his jaw and feels the tension down his neck and nods, stiffly.

“Good boy,” Heechul murmurs before slipping past and giving chase.

Hyuck takes a moment to watch their elder disappear around the corridor before running towards the southeast staircase, up towards the city where Renjun will definitely be.

The air is quieter once he reaches the gardens, the storm more at ease but she hasn’t given up yet. There is still power swirling in the air that tastes like despair, like heartache; something cold and harrowing and Hyuck hates it.

The sun is hidden behind thick, clogging clouds and his runes murmur, his magic vibrating, but all it does it make him feel lonely as he scampers between the roads as quickly as he can.

The city is torn between a melee and a graveyard. Anything that could be hidden away or blown away has been. There are soldiers and Witch Guard locking things up, tying down weatherproof tenting over quickly abandoned market stalls, herding animals into their pens and stables.

Renjun is in the lower town with Jaemin, the pair of them pulling anger and despair out of the air and ordering several Witch Guard about as they help fix the awnings and fencing where it has been badly damaged.

It will need serious work down here, Hyuck thinks, as he splatters mud everywhere in his chase.

Many of the buildings are old and have not been able to handle the wind as well as the stonework in the northern town.

“Injunnie!” he calls as he pushes through several soldiers to get to the two witches. They both freeze as they see him coming and Jaemin takes an urgent few steps forward to catch Hyuck as he comes to a stop, breathing hard.

“What’s wrong?” Renjun asks, wide eyed and worried.

“Taeyongie,” Hyuck chokes out through heaving breaths. “Heechul-hyung asked me to come get you.”

Renjun grabs Hyuck by the hand and starts pulling him back the way he came. Hyuck looks towards Jaemin, whose expression is dark and worried, but he waves him off.

“I’ll finish up here! Go!” he urges and that’s all Hyuck needs, pushing ahead of Renjun and yanking him along faster in his wake.

It’s a lot faster back to the castle and everyone moves out of their way without asking. Nobody is stupid enough to get in the way of two witches in a hurry.

Doyoung has the hearth blazing by the time they reach Taeyong’s rooms. The fire tall and brilliant and the room is thick with warmth and magic.

None of them look drenched anymore, even Taeyong, laid out in his bed looks dry and warm.

But he doesn’t look right.

His skin is white and ashy and there is no tension in his body at all. Yuta is sitting around his head, his hands trailing through his hair and Donghyuck can feel the cool bite of Yuta’s magic as he tries to soothe away whatever has been done.

Renjun, however, shudders as he comes close.

“What happened?” he asks, a little waver in his voice that makes Donghyuck feel awfully afraid.

“We had to put him down,” Doyoung answers from where he is perched at the foot of the bed.

“He would have burned himself out otherwise.”

Both are things that haven’t happened in years as far as Donghyuck knows. Nobody has ever been powerful enough to lose control badly enough someone else had to intervene. Lost control enough they almost destroy themselves.

Its why they have Witch Guard. It’s what the binding is for. A link between another life force, splitting the strain of the magic between two instead of one. A grounding source.

But Johnny was supposed to be Taeyong’s and it has been five years since that future split apart. 

Renjun makes another sad little sound as he moves closer to the bed and Donghyuck wonders just how awful Taeyong’s magic must feel if it’s making Injunnie so sad.

“We will follow your lead, little fox,” Heechul says calmly from where he is standing by the door, Renjun’s spell box in hand and Renjun nods as he reaches out to take it, gathering himself together as he lingers by the bed.

Spells, after all, are just spells and while any of them can follow along, as a witch of Rejuvenation, Renjun’s magic is far beyond anything they could attempt. His natural magic is soothing, calming, like springwater. It replenishes and restores those around him in its natural state and there is no one better to help soothe the afterburns of Taeyong’s storm than Renjun.

Hyuck tries not to feel jealous as the elder witches urge him forward, letting Renjun perch on the bed next to Yuta and Taeyong.

Doyoung watches like a hawk, as Doyoung is wont to do, but the tension in his shoulders is different than if it was Donghyuck.

Renjun opens his box of supplies and with gentle fingers starts selecting sprigs of valerian and crystal grace, binding them together with moon lavender and a long string of silver silk and a single grey hair. The precious little bag is a familiar token as Renjun tucks it under Taeyong’s pillow and Hyuck hopes that it brings Taeyongie an easier sleep the way Renjun’s spell pouches have done for him in the past.

Not that any of Donghyuck’s ever contained anything as powerful as moon flowers.

Renjun sets his spell box aside and shuffles a little closer to Taeyong, his hands slowly glowing. As he starts to hum, softly, the warm feeling in the air starts to spread and Hyuck finds himself breathing easier. But he cannot look away as Renjun lays a hand on Taeyong’s chest and the ephemeral glow under Renjun’s fingers starts to spread, sinking like soft tendrils into the folds of Taeyong’s clothes.

Renjun is quiet and still and Hyuck is almost afraid to breath too loudly as he watches a long endless moment of perfect stillness before Taeyong breathes in, loud and sharply, almost arching off the bed with the force of it, before relaxing completely.

Taeyong breathes easier then, more regularly, more presently. He seems more asleep than lax and some of the tension and fear in the air recedes.

Yuta lets out a long breath and brushes back Taeyong’s long fringe to press a kiss there, fingers shaking.

Renjun doesn’t move though, he keeps his hand pressed over Taeyong’s chest and his magic glows.

Hyuck can feel the ebb and flow in the air and so can Heechul, the two of them carefully watching Renjun as Yuta and Doyoung keep watch over Taeyong.

It takes time before Renjun is happy and when he sits back he wobbles dangerously and Doyoung has to steady him as Hyuck and Heechul both rush to do the same.

“Oh, my boys what a mess this has made of things,” Heechul says, kneeling down in front of Renjun and pushing back his fringe to check his temperature.

“I’m okay, hyung,” Renjun says, but he looks tired and Heechul clucks at the lie.

“To bed with you, little fox,” he chides.

Hyuck knows how much Renjun’s feeling it when he doesn’t complain when Hyuck comes over and offers to carry him back to his room, instead just looping his arms around Hyuck’s neck and letting it happen.

Shindong is waiting in the hallway outside Chenle’s door when Heechul leads them out and he falls in line silently as they march back to Renjun’s rooms.

The floor is wet where the windows were left open and Shindong goes about cleaning it up as Hyuck sets Injunnie down and starts pulling off his shoes.

Doyoung’s magic dried their clothes out while they were in Taeyong’s rooms but Hyuck isn’t about to let Injunnie sleep in anything mud splattered and helps him into something softer before stealing night clothes for himself too.

Heechul and Shindong are murmuring quietly as the two boys settle in Renjun’s bed and Hyuck waits to be told what to do by his hyungs, arms wrapped firmly around Renjun’s waist as the witch falls asleep quickly and without even complaining once.

It makes Hyuck’s stomach twist and his heart ache and for a moment he wishes sharply that Johnny had stayed at the wall and never come back.

“Shindong will keep watch, duckling. But I will only be a call away,” Heechul murmurs softly as he stands in the doorway and watches them, and Hyuck nods, tucking his head firmly back into the arch of Renjun’s spine.

“Sleep well.”

Sleep comes eventually and he wakes restlessly to the sound of Shindong talking to someone, but he doesn’t bother opening his eyes, simply letting his exhaustion pull him back under without fuss.

The next time he wakes up it’s to Chenle making a terrible effort at snuggling up to Renjun without jostling them. The little Witchling has already woken Renjun and Hyuck has a few irritated words on the tip of his tongue that die when he hears Injunnie laugh quietly instead.

“So, you’re not completely dead,” he grumbles instead and Renjun snorts.

“Shush, more sleeping,” Chenle whines and that makes Hyuck offer up a smile of his own because it really isn’t often that they get to indulge in laying about like this.

Dawn always comes and with it the Witch Heart.

But not today.

*

The Heart is quiet and solemn in the days following.

Taeyong spends most of the first two days asleep, though Renjun promises that he’s fine and Hyuck believes him because he knows Injunnie wouldn’t lie.

Hyuck spends a whole day in one of the apothecaries watching Renjun and Jaemin mix together various potions and tinctures because if he knows if he goes anywhere near Johnny he might just set him on fire.

So instead he lingers in the bowels of the Heart, doing as he’s told. Renjun has him stripping willowbark and crushing rosewood thorns until they’re nothing but a fine dust. It’s sort of nice, sort of soothing, and hacking through the thick skin of deathroot tubers to get to the seeds at least gives him something to do with his lingering anger.

The list of things to be done is endless and for every bottle of easily-crushed fennel seeds there is a pile of bloodbone only Injunnie can work through with his athame to slice into slivers fine enough to see through.

Potions and spell pouches are not Hyuck’s personal favourite form of magic. He’s not alien to the specialities, and he knows enough to help Jaemin with the strength and wellness elixirs he wants to deliver out into the city to help fend off any lingering illnesses after the storm.

But it’s definitely not his speciality and normally even Injunnie can’t convince him to stay very long. There are an abnormally large amount of ingredients in potion making that are light sensitive or dry out faster in the sunshine and so most of the workrooms don’t have windows.

So while the repetitive actions are soothing, the lack of Sunshine makes his mood even worse, but no one brings up his sulking because almost the entire coven is feeling a little sullen.

They all know what happened now, after all; what Doyoung and Yuta had to do in order to stop Taeyong and its left everyone a little shaken.

Magic is dangerous and difficult to manage, all of them in the Heart know it better than anyone beyond their Walls. They all found their way here because they were too powerful or their magic too unwieldy to be harnessed by their own communities. But none of them have ever had to turn their magic on their own before.

It’s not something that has never happened; there are dozens of accounts in the library of history’s mistakes and missed steps.

But most of those problems disappeared with the Binding rituals. With the Witch Guard. The fact that Taeyong’s guard is the source of his problems is almost too much to ignore. But Hyuck cannot forgive the anger that has started to burn in his chest every time he even thinks about Johnny.

Because as much as he has missed him, he has loved Taeyong more.

Not that he can forget his own part in all this, either.

Any time the thought that he might have had something to do with what happened crawls its way across the back of his mind he has to fight not to cry.

And it’s like his friends know, because they don’t leave him alone.

They don’t make him talk; but they don’t leave him to dwell and that means all the more.

But that doesn’t do anything for the solemn feeling of knowing what has caused him to get this far.

Hyuck doesn't see much of his Hyungs. Even Taeil is a ghost in the halls. The only one he sees more than once is, surprisingly, Doyoung and each time the witch looks more worse for wear.

Doyoung is a harried mess that Hyuck is almost afraid to approach given his role in all this. After all, Hyuck sees the same guilt in Doyoung as he feels in himself.

Doyoung had encouraged Taeyongie to meet with Johnny and Hyuck had read Johnny’s cards.

This is where those choices have lead and Hyuck hates that this is the exact sort of thing that Doyoung was trying to stop when he told Hyuck to stay out of it.

There are ashes in the air when Hyuck finds his courage and follows Doyoung out into the rose garden, chasing blackened footprints in stone and grass alike.

“I’m sorry, hyung,” he says, choking around the guilt that has been burning down his spine for days. But while Doyoung's arms are charcoal black, veins cracking like molten embers, his hands are comfortingly warm when he reaches out and takes Hyuck by the hand, pulling him over to curl up against him.

“He needed to get it out,” Doyoung says, brushing a soothing hand through Hyuck’s hair. His voice doesn’t waver, his heartbeat is steady and calm, but there is frailty in Doyoung’s eyes and exhaustion in his bones and Hyuck hates it.

He still doesn’t even know which one of them was the one who had to hurt Taeyongie. Whether it was Yuta, who has become little more than a wisp of shadow and glass. Or Doyoung, with charcoal footsteps and forearms cracking like cinders. 

But either way Hyuck knows that his own hands are still bloody.

The Empress. Two of Swords. Justice. The Scholar. The Queen of Blades.

An uncertain future, frail and vulnerable.

Doyoung had tried to warn him, that Taeyong’s threads were weak, that his control was wavering and Hyuck had thought himself a genius. Thought that going to Johnny would keep his hands clean.

“I’m sorry, Doyoungie,” he says, voice wobbling and wavering.

“I know,” Doyoung says, his hands warm and forgiveness easy.

*

By the time Taeyong is up on his feet again and wandering around the Heart Renjun finally gets sick of Donghyuck’s sulking and kicks him out of the apothecary.

With no one to bother Hyuck ends up outside in the gardens again, which is probably for the best otherwise he might have started carving hexes underneath Johnny’s seat in the dining hall.

The Sunshine revels, delighted to have him to herself again, mourning how much she has missed him.

She murmurs to him without words; just like the bubbling of a brook or the whistling of the wind he feels her prickle down his spine and the feeling is a quiet relief he’s really needed.

The castle is still quiet in the aftermath of the storm and the gardens are quieter still, but there are always other people he could find if he wants company. He hasn’t seen Taeil in days and Jungwoo is always an easy ear and an open heart. But while being outside makes him feel better, the idea of searching out company still makes him feel wrong and so he continues to sulk instead.

It’s counter-productive but given what’s happened recently he feels better being away from everyone somehow, and it’s not like anyone else seeks him out either.

He’s certainly not expecting _Xuxi _to find him.

He is used to his temperament getting in the way of people’s expectations and for all of Xuxi’s heart Donghyuck isn’t expecting the soldier to come looking for him.

But Hyuck has missed the way Xuxi smiles and his stomach does a little backflip as the soldier approaches and while anyone else he might have told them off, with Xuxi he finds himself holding his tongue.

“Hi,” he says, coming to a stop where Hyuck has wedged himself under the boughs of Renjun’s favourite tangerine tree.

It’s deep into the gardens and really Xuxi shouldn’t have been able to find him, but the Heart knows her children, Leeteuk always says, and she seems to like Xuxi.

Especially if she helped him find his way all the way here where Hyuck has been sulking for better part of the afternoon.

“Hi,” he replies, a little slower than his usual bite, but Xuxi doesn’t seem to mind. Instead he takes the reply as an invitation and folds himself smaller than should be possible given his enormous height and tucks himself in the empty space next to Donghyuck. A warm feeling unfurls gingerly in Hyuck’s chest and for a moment he has to resist the urge to cry.

“Are you okay?” Xuxi asks and Hyuck snorts, tossing the boy a wide, fake smile but Xuxi’s expression doesn’t change and he hates that the soldier doesn’t give into to his whims the way most people do. Doesn’t let face value keep the distance between them.

Hyuck is temperamental enough, obnoxious enough that people let him be when they don’t want to deal with him, and he knows exactly what to do to make that happen when he actually wants it the least.

There aren’t many who seem to see past that.

Jaemin doesn’t really seem to notice most of the time and carries on anyway, which Hyuck appreciates even if it’s mostly because his friend is a dumbass. Renjun is quieter by nature and infinitely more perceptive which makes Hyuck somehow feel more exposed and Jeno is an odd mixture of the two that Hyuck is still figuring out, even though they’ve been friends for years.

Xuxi, though, Xuxi just seems determined not to let this go.

“Why wouldn’t I be okay?” he asks with a quirked brow and that’s enough to get Xuxi to finally look away, reaching up to poke gently at the leaves scattering above them.

“I don’t know. People keep talking down in the barracks and stuff, but I don’t know what’s true or not. Everyone’s just been… weird since that storm the other day. I haven’t seen you a lot.”

“You really are far from home, aren’t you?” Hyuck says, sharp and unkind and hates himself for it immediately, especially since Xuxi only grins somewhat dopily and preens like he’s just proud Hyuck noticed.

“Not everyone needs to grow up somewhere fancy,” Xuxi replies and Hyuck falls quiet, turning back to watching the light strew through the boughs, tumbling through each branch and collection of leaves and scattering into nothingness across the ground before reforming again.

“It must have been nice.”

“It was.”

“Do you miss your family?”

“I do,” Xuxi says quietly, more sombre than Hyuck has heard him but he doesn’t look over; he doesn’t have the courage.

“My family is here. None of us really have anyone else anymore. We take care of each other instead.”

“Is that why you’ve been gone?” Xuxi asks carefully and Hyuck nods.

"Taeyongie is sick. After his storm. He can't control things sometimes. His magic gets too much.”

"Isn't there some way to stop that though?" Xuxi asks, clearly concerned.

Hyuck nods glumly.

"That's what the Witch Guard is for. I mean, they do other things, protect the castle and the Black City and stuff. Most of them never have a witch of their own. And most of us never have a guard of our own, either. We don't all need one. But when you're powerful sometimes it gets too much. Taeyongie needs a Witch Guard more than any of us."

"That's what your friend is, right? Jeno?"

Hyuck hums.

"Yeah. He and Jaemin are meant to Bind soon but they just need approval from the court first."

"Johnny was meant to be Taeyong’s guard, wasn't he?" Xuxi asks carefully and Hyuck can't help but snort.

"It's not really a secret, Xuxi. Johnny grew up here, too."

"Oh. I didn't know that."

"Mmm, he and Yongie were paired off early. Like babies early. Everybody knows about Johnny and Taeyong. Its why people are so excited about Jeno and Jaeminnie because it's like a second chance. We don't get a lot of Bindings anymore. It's making the war harder too because Witches can use more power when we have an anchor. It protects us."

“I didn’t know magic could do that.”

“Do what?”

“Hurt you. I thought it was meant to feel good.”

“It does,” Hyuck replies, struck by Xuxi’s sincerity. “But it’s different for everyone. Some people only have a little and some people have a lot. It’s why we’re all here at the Witch Heart. No one could help us so they sent us here so we could help each other.”

“What about you? Does it hurt you?” Xuxi asks, clearly concerned and Hyuck feels himself smile for the first real time in days.

“No. The Sun takes care of me. She never hurts me.”

“Then why do you have so many?” he trails off, but his eyes are lingering on the runes poking out of the cuffs of Hyuck’s coat and he reaches out to touch one of them gingerly.

“They help. They’re like guiding stars,” Hyuck says, watching Xuxi’s curiosity as he pulls his sleeve back to show him more of the runes he’s spent years collecting. “Spells are hard, and you need to concentrate. Most of mine are for Seeing; helping me with my cards. Runes have magic of their own. It’s why if a Witch gives one to you then you can use the magic in it because they give you a little bit of their own; Johnny’s are like that. They’re called Witch Blessings.”

“I know about those!” Xuxi perks up and grins widely. “Guanheng has some. His sisters gave them to him.”

Hyuck smiles, softly.

“Witch Blessings are always gifts. Anyone can have them, really. But the council likes to make them fancy. We’re not meant to do them in secret.”

“Have you given one out, then?” Xuxi asks and Hyuck laughs, surprising himself.

“No. Everyone I know is here and has their own magic anyway. Besides I think Heechul might actually explode if he caught me drawing runes on anyone but myself.”

“What about me, could I have one?” Xuxi asks, still caught up in his curiosity and Hyuck ignores the little thrill in his gut at the idea of being able to give Xuxi his first rune. Of being able to bless someone who looked at him like he was the sun and not just her child.

“If you wanted them. They help.”

“What would you give me, if you could?” Xuxi says, settling back and fixing all of his attention on Donghyuck and he feels the weight of it. The Sun is giggling, his magic trembling under his skin and it might still be cold, might still be grey, but he knows she’s listening.

The Sun wants to know what he’d give Xuxi, too.

_I would keep you safe_, he thinks.

*

Hyuck is used to knowing things others don’t.

He’s used to having at least the upper hand, but with Xuxi he finds himself painfully and happily blind.

He knows nothing about him, except that he shines in the sun and his laughter is the dumbest, cutest sound in the world.

They are secrets Hyuck is keeping close, because no one can ever know how giddy seeing Xuxi’s cute embarrassment makes him feel. How easily he had soothed away his anxieties in the hidden shade of a tangerine tree.

He’s still traumatised by his friends’ teasing and the fact that Jaemin spent an entire day snooping around after Xuxi just makes him feel selfish and on guard.

Something changed that day under the tree, at least for him, and he is terrified of spoiling it.

So, instead of lurking out in the training area where Hyuck knows Jaemin can watch them, or the town square where everyone else can see them, Hyuck introduces Xuxi to the private areas of the castle where only those at home ever find.

It feels valuable, to know Xuxi sought him out entirely for him, that the soldier’s infallible curiosity is for Donghyuck and not just his cards. It feels valuable and precious and the only way he can process the way it makes him feel is to offer something valuable in return.

The Heart guards her secrets, or so the stories go. Yuta used to tell them tales growing up of intruders getting lost along the backwards paths. Witch Hunters and those who wished the Witches harm taking roads that lead directly into the clutches of the Witch Guard no matter how careful those intruders were.

Taeyong scolded him for giving the witchlings nightmares, but the story was always a particular comfort to Hyuck.

His mother had brought him here to the Heart when he was just seven years old, terrified of the Witch Hunters roaming the border towns and afraid for her son who could already hear the Sunshine whispering to him. The idea that the Heart itself was taking care of him, keeping watch the way the Sun did, kept Hyuck’s fears at bay back then and still does. He believes in it firmly, in the way the Heart has regularly lead him to corners of the gardens he’s never seen, and the days where there have been shortcuts where he’s never found any before.

The Heart keeps them safe, protects her own, just as much as the Guard does and Hyuck feels giddy knowing that the Heart likes Xuxi too.

He feels relieved that he can trust his intuition because he knows almost nothing else about the soldier. So, he has been learning Xuxi in snippets, taking care to set each piece aside. Xuxi hides nothing, but Hyuck still finds each part of him precious.

He is kind and courteous and careful with his strength at all times, except for the moments where he is simply too excited to remember. His grip is always gentle and yet Hyuck has seen his strength in his playfighting and wonders in awe at how much effort it must take to stand so small when everything about him is so large.

Xuxi is even a soldier by choice, though he goes to the Wall to protect than by force or some eagerness for valour.

He is far smarter than his eagerness appears which Hyuck figured out early, but what surprises him is that there is no façade. Xuxi doesn’t hide his brain behind his brawn for any reason other than his excitement for literally everything.

There is no maliciousness in him, no motive, which as a Witch seems almost childish to be so trusting.

Hyuck has only ever been a Witch, and a powerful one at that. The world is not kind to those who are strange, and the Heart protects them because all who come here need it.

The King and Queen might both be Witches; there might be magic running through the veins of the Kingdom’s most staunch protectors. But it means little amongst the little folk. Anyone with more power than a healing Hedgewitch can be dangerous and Hyuck ended up here at the Heart because his mother had been afraid he would end up in a Witch Hunters cage.

Xuxi might not be ignorant to the world’s dangers; he has lived on the Wall after all. Fought monsters that Donghyuck has only ever read about, kept far out of reach of those particular horrors.

But he seems naïve almost. A good heart, a good man, and Hyuck cannot quite understand the way Xuxi looks to him with eyes wide and gleaming as if anything Donghyuck says is worth listening to.

It makes his heart bruise against his ribs.

But it seems to hurt less with every day he does it, and so he finds himself searching Xuxi out.

His mornings are spent in the Heart, letting the magic wash over him as they start guiding spells through the Heart Stone again, and his days are spent in the gardens.

The Sun adores it.

She beams down at them when they meet in the training yard but he feels her almost preening the day he leads Xuxi down towards the Witchwood, where the plants are all in bloom. It’s a surprise to him the way Xuxi’s laughter spreads, bouncing out of him in excitement as he takes it all in.

“Woah!” the giant soldier keeps saying in awe, stopping every few metres to peer at the different plants and flowers lining the garden paths. Turning back to Hyuck to ask what it’s called if he doesn’t already know himself.

He knows far more than Hyuck is expecting, considering everything here is grown for spellwork. But Xuxi is eager all the same, and peers at the ugly malwort tubers with the same sort of reverence as the pretty fragile flowers.

“What’s about this one?” he asks every few metres and Hyuck laughs and indulges him. It’s not the smartest venture, considering how little he enjoys plant based magics, but seeing Xuxi’s enthusiasm is more than enough.

“I don’t know about that one,” he admits and laughs softly at the sad sound Xuxi makes when the flower he’s peering at breaks from its stem.

He picks it up gingerly, holding the little flower like he’s afraid to squash it, smiling broadly as he stands up and tucks the flower behind Hyuck’s ear.

“There, pretty,” he says before breaking off into giggles and Hyuck has to fight not to make an embarrassing sound like a squashed rodent.

All of a sudden his heart is positively _pounding_ in his chest and for the first time in his life he has no idea what to say or do. Because Xuxi is looking down at him with his eyes crinkling into little moons and his cheeks puffing around the biggest smile in the world, and it makes Hyuck’s toes curl and his magic purr and right then he really wants to run away.

“You picked that up off the _ground_,” he complains instead and Xuxi laughs.

“I don’t wanna take anything she doesn’t want to give me though,” he shrugs, and mercy be, Hyuck thinks, he’s even a bleeding heart over _flowers_.

“I – “ Hyuck says, and for a moment his heart is fluttering and the words are on the tip of his tongue. _I like you_, is what he wants to say. _I think you’re ridiculous. And wonderful. I think any plant would be happy to give you as many flowers as you want. _

“I need to go,” he says instead, the words rushed and tumbling out over each other as he panics.

“Oh,” Xuxi says, expression falling and Hyuck’s panic increases, the Sunshine prickling against his back like she’s unhappy with him.

“I’ll… I’ll, ah, see you tomorrow?” he says instead, flustering, as he’s backing away.

Xuxi lights up again, and waves him goodbye as Hyuck scampers like he’s been caught in the locked spellbook section of the Heart.

It’s the worst moment of Donghyuck’s life.

“I hate everything,” he groans nearly an hour later, perched high on the wall in the very private rose garden, sulking.

Renjun snorts.

“Dramatics,” he huffs, idly twisting a leaf between two fingers, almost completely ignoring Hyuck and his mental breakdown to admire the boughs of the overhanging tangerine tree from the other side of the garden. The same tree Hyuck had been hiding under when Xuxi found him.

They should probably move.

“I do. Is it always like this?"

"What, having feelings?" Renjun teases and Hyuck groans.

"_Yes_. Why do I feel like I want nobody to ever look at me again or I'll burst into flames? All he did was _smile_, Injunnie. This is awful."

Renjun is too busy laughing at him to answer and Hyuck is about to roll off the edge of the wall and bury himself in the dirt forever by the time he finishes.

"I am the absolute last person you should be asking about this; you know that."

"Yeah but you're asexual not aromantic. And I dunno. I thought you'd be able to tell me how stupid it is."

"I don't need to be ace to laugh at you for this. You've spent years turning your nose up at anyone with feelings and now you've caught your own."

"It's not that I don't like feelings," Hyuck whines and Renjun cuts him off.

"You hate feelings."

"That's because I didn't think I'd ever have any," he says defensively and Renjun peers down at him looking a little sad.

"Now that's stupid."

"No, it's not. You know what it’s like here, and it was worse growing up. Everyone else always had someone and they always made such a fuss about whether I'd find someone, and I never did."

"That doesn't mean anything, Hyuckie. Most of us don’t have a Witch Guard; and not finding a perfect match when you’re a child doesn’t mean you’re never going to find them. It certainly doesn't mean you're incapable of someone liking you at all forever. Or you liking someone back."

"I hate logic,” Hyuck says, mulishly.

Renjun laughs, but his expression is kind.

"Despite what you've been lead to believe you're not an awful person, you know. You're actually quite easy to love, right up until the point you make it hard."

"That doesn't make sense,” Hyuck scowls and his urge to roll off the garden wall and become plant matter comes back again full force.

He really doesn’t want to know what Renjun’s about to say but he’s literally the one who asked, and he knows Injunnie is only trying to help.

"It means that people want to love you and you push them away because you're scared,” Renjun says softly and Hyuck makes a face.

"No, I don't."

"No one wants to know their worst futures, Hyuckie. Most people don't want to know anything at all,” Renjun admonishes, kindly.

"They ask!"

"But they don't really want to know. Tact is your friend; you should listen to it just like you're going to listen to me."

"I regret all of this,” Hyuck mutters and Renjun laughs.

"No, you don't."

"Yes, I do. Feelings are stupid.”

"Your feelings aren't stupid, Hyuckie. They actually sound sort of nice."

“Yeah?” he asks, his voice smaller than he intended and for once Renjun doesn’t tease him. Maybe he sees that just this once Hyuck can’t quite handle it.

“Yeah. It’s nice to see you happy, you know. And he’s handsome, I guess,” Renjun shrugs.

“You guess?” Hyuck glowers. “Hey, I know you don’t want to bone anyone, but I know you know how to admire hot boys, Injunnie, cause I’ve seen you staring at _Jeno_.”

“I do _not_!” Renjun squawks and on impulse gives Hyuck a giant shove, the pair of them briefly forgetting where they are, sending Hyuck falling off the wall and into the rose bushes two metres below them with an undignified shriek.

*

It takes an awful lot of bravery on Hyuck’s part to face Xuxi in the training area the next morning.

He tries to drown it out under his duties as a Prince, especially since there is a lingering tension throughout the council meeting when Teukie announces that both Taemin and Jongin are being called away; Jongin to the Wall and Taemin to the Black City.

“Should we be concerned?” Taeyong asks as the two elder princes read over their respective summons.

“It’s just precautionary, at this point,” Leeteuk replies, but Hyuck isn’t stupid enough to miss the worry etched into the lines around his mouth.

“Junmyeon wants help,” Jongin says, handing Taeyong his letter, who hesitates before he takes it.

“The Wall is still quiet,” Leeteuk says but no one is foolish enough to pretend that it will not always stay that way.

It had been a risk to allow so many soldiers home, but she does not go undefended. The Wall is long and there are hundreds still scattered along the long expanse, keeping watch.

“The scuffles are increasing. Sehun thinks they’re scouting parties.”

“Jimin’s mentioned the same about the Northern Plains before,” Taemin says, tucking his own letter away in the breast pocket of his jacket. "Though he's still not sure if the fighters are infected refugees sent as fodder or anything more to be worried about."

“It is something to be wary of,” Leeteuk hums and Hyuck finds himself looking over the enormous map between them. The long line of the Wall is scattered with the markers of their legionnaires.

The open plains to the north are a popular cross over for refugees and a familiar feeling of mourning tugs at Hyuck’s heart strings. War is terrible, and the Mistborn are seemingly never ending, their magic planting deep in the lungs of the innocent and taking root. Converting those escaping their warpath into figments of the slaughter.

It is only the magic of the Wall, of the Soul Stones themselves, that keep their own people safe. But there is no end to an army whose soldiers have no choice about their fates.

“All we can do is keep watch, and keep the Wall strong,” Leeteuk says, solemn and sad before turning his attention towards Hyuck.

“Yuta has been scrying, keeping a careful eye on the borders. Donghyuck-ah, it would always be helpful for you to do the same.”

Hyuck nods.

It’s not common for his Sight to be particularly helpful so broadly, but that is his own limitations not those of his magic.

The Sun is always shining, after all.

It’s almost strange leaving the War room after. The world feels smaller and simultaneously much larger than before.

Hyuck’s worry, his realisations, seem fickle by comparison to the looming dread on the horizon.

The uncertainty is almost worse than any real confirmation, Hyuck can’t help but think, because there has been fighting on the Wall almost constantly now for over a decade.

But Johnny’s soldiers have returned home under the guise of its most recent, dedicated lull. The eastern borders have been home to soldiers who have come and gone for more than half of Donghyuck’s lifetime, but the promise of more fighting is never kind.

If they have pulled back their excess soldiers and fallen into a trap of their own making there will be a heavy price to pay in order to keep the Wall strong against whatever force the Mistborn sends.

It also means any available soldiers will need to return to their posts.

_Xuxi_ will need to return.

The thought takes hold with surprising strength and while Donghyuck has spent the last twelve hours afraid and embarrassed by turns, he is more scared of watching the soldier turn and march back to his death.

_Something valuable in exchange for a battle, single-handedly won. _

Donghyuck does not want to kiss a war hero goodbye.

He does not wish to say goodbye _at all._

“Are you okay, Donghyuck-ah?” Taeyong asks, lingering long enough to catch Hyuck by the hand.

He looks better, their Taeyongie. There are still shadows under his eyes that Hyuck knows will not disappear while Johnny remains at White Stone.

Taeyong has suffered their soldiers return in ways no one else has. But he looks sturdier on his feet, somehow. Stronger in his gaze than the last time he looked Hyuck in the eye.

It’s a genuine relief, and some unseen knot in Hyuck’s heartstrings gently loosens.

“I’m okay, hyung,” he says, and there is no sting of a lie on his tongue.

He cannot be afraid of what he feels for Xuxi when he is far more scared of losing him.

Taeyong doesn’t reply right away, peering at Hyuck carefully, eyes wide and glinting grey as he cocks his head like a curious pup. Hyuck can’t help but smile at the image and Taeyong relaxes immediately, the tension in his shoulders slipping away in an instant.

“I’m glad,” Taeyongie smiles, and the Sunshine smiles with him.

*

It doesn’t actually surprise Hyuck when he leaves the Heart to find Xuxi lurking as close to the doors as the two Witch Guard on duty will let him.

The relieved expression on the soldier’s face makes Hyuck snicker as he steps out into the bright early morning sunshine and the happy burn down his spine almost ripples through his entire body.

“You do know you’re not allowed in there, right?” he asks as he approaches and Xuxi shrugs, letting out an awkward little laugh he only does when he’s nervous and it’s something that is quickly becoming Hyuck’s favourite thing.

“I didn’t know where to wait for you,” he says and considering how Hyuck had abandoned him in the Witchwood the day before, standing right out the front of the Heart is probably the best chance Xuxi had of not being avoided.

He feels a little guilty, then. Because despite his revelations he hasn’t been the kindest to the soldier. He truly had left Xuxi without so much a thought for consequence, and he hates how selfish he must seem. Whether Xuxi recognised his panic or not it isn’t something he wants the other to endure.

_You’re easy to love, you know; right up until you make it hard._

Renjun’s voice is like a shiver down his spine and he stands up straighter as if on impulse.

“Well I promise I won’t abandon you in a garden full of mushrooms again today,” he says, and Xuxi _smiles_ like it’s a victory. Its wide and beaming, and strangely honest, like a true glimpse of joy and very quickly becoming Hyuck’s favourite thing.

“Are you hungry?” he asks and enjoys the way Xuxi’s face seems to light up even more.

And there _really_ is no room left for lies anymore, Hyuck thinks, as he lets Xuxi lead him up into the town.

The truth is heavy on his tongue almost every moment Xuxi looks his way, every brilliant smile making the tips of Hyuck’s fingers burn with the urge to touch, the desire to reach out. Because he wants it, so _fiercely_. He wants that smile to himself, to covet it like a dragon hoarding treasure. There is a glimmer of sunlight in his smile, the echo of starlight in his eyes and the promise of tomorrow.

And yet.

He also knows the truth. His brain is full of the Heart, full of it’s secrets and the looming dread growing on the horizon.

Xuxi is an immeasurable thing. But despite how precious he has become, Hyuck knows now he is out of reach, sitting just beyond the tips of his fingers and yet the cost of reaching out and taking seems unnameable. He is a temporary thing, fleeting and beautiful, and Hyuck is afraid.

And so as Xuxi smiles and broadly shares every corner of himself in almost every word he says, Hyuck quietly tells himself he is content to only enjoy what Xuxi gives him, and to ask for nothing more.

He tells himself he is happy being Xuxi’s friend and his tongue burns with the words he leaves unspoken.

*

Days pass like summer rain, slipping between their fingers as if they were never there.

It seems almost bizarre to know that the soldiers have only been back in White Stone three weeks, and now Hyuck knows that their freedom is only increasingly temporary, he carries it with him always.

It makes the goings on in the Heart feel more precious, more weighty; especially since half the Witches have twisted their attentions in the soldiers scattering around the castle proper.

Hyuck of course, has Xuxi.

Jeno seems to have found a friend in Mark Lee, Johnny’s lieutenant. Meanwhile Chenle and Jisung swear they’ve caught Jungwoo sneaking Captain Jung out of the Witches apartments at least twice this week alone, and given the way Jungwoo looks every time the Captain’s gaze flickers his way, Hyuck is happy enough to believe them.

It’s been a while since Woo has had someone to play with properly, and without Tennie around he’s been a little more forlorn lately.

And, of course, there’s been Johnny and Taeyong.

It almost seems as if they have reached a stalemate since Taeyong’s storm and Hyuck can tell Johnny is afraid to approach Taeyong, which he frankly deserves, given what happened.

But there is still something lingering between them and Hyuck can’t decide if their unwillingness to fix whatever it is keeping them apart is warranted or more trouble than it’s worth.

Of course it doesn’t take long to prove leaving the two of them to their own devices is just as bad as anyone interfering.

Renjun is the first of them to feel it the very next morning, poking at his breakfast with a sour face like he can’t quite figure out if something smells bad.

It’s only the first sign of something not quite feeling right, so when Hyuck starts to feel lethargic and a little nauseous himself he just pins it down to a bad breakfast.

By the time mid-morning rolls around its far more obvious it has nothing to do with food.

The magic feels _wrong_, oily and slick and _sour_ and instead of basking in the sunlight dancing over the gardens Hyuck feels far too hot and uncomfortable in his skin.

He and his friends end up in the open space near the training arena because there is simply too much magic in the air everywhere else for it to be comfortable and Jeno won't let any of them out of the castle bounds.

Jeno is so rare at exerting his authority over them as Jaemin's Witch Guard that no one is willing to argue. Not that they have the energy to anyway. 

Instead Renjun settles his blanket out and they slump down to watch the soldiers move through drills instead.

It feels relatively okay, and Hyuck enjoys watching everyone else do lots of running and jumping and hitting things. So long as he doesn’t have to do a lot of moving.

Or any moving at all.

Because every time he so much as shifts his head swims and for the first time in his life the glare of the sunshine is almost too much.

Renjun seems to be feeling it harder than Hyuck is and ends up curling into a ball with his head tucked firmly across Hyuck’s thighs and goes to sleep. Hyuck toys with his hair every now and again though every time he does Injunnie starts whining at him to stop and then sighing mournfully when he does.

Jaemin isn’t any better off, but in familiar form simply turns his malingering onto Jeno, who welcomes it with the same vigour as he does anything to do with his witch.

Instead of whining Jaemin just becomes especially clingy and the distance normally held between them drops to almost nothing. Every time Hyuck so much as looks their way Jaemin has some part of himself draped over Jeno or vice versa.

By noon it’s obvious that it’s definitely something wrong with the magic, it’s _Soured_ which Hyuck has read about, learned in Heechul’s boring history lessons as a child; but not once has anyone ever experienced it.

He hadn’t actually thought it was possible for a witches anger to pollute the magic of the Heart, but he definitely believes it now.

Not everyone is struck down the same way Renjun and Jaemin seem to be. Hyuck feels _gross_ but functional; he might hate everything, but he’s also been enjoying himself watching Xuxi and Johnny’s boy, Mark, doing tricks with enormous staves almost bigger than they are.

Jungwoo seems to be one of those withstanding it better than others when he potters their way with a basket full of food that makes Renjun groan and whine and make exaggerated retching noises.

“I blessed it, so it should go down easy,” he says, patting Injunnie’s hair fondly. Renjun still looks sceptical but does eat a little which makes Hyuck feel better than he thought it would.

Hyuck is lucky because he only really feels the brunt of it when he reaches for his magic. His runes squirm a little and make him nauseous, but he skips out on most of the backlash. For Jaemin and Renjun, whose powers are internal and integral, the Souring is almost inescapable.

For the first time in a while the coven is forced to alternative means of soothing their ails and instead of the familiar calming moonbeams Taeil will hang over the Heart, the elder witches walk from room to room tucking spell pouches beneath their pillows.

Hyuck’s rooms smell like lavender and valerian root and definitely helps to make him feel drowsy.

Doyoung wanders the halls fussing with anyone he comes across and no one seems able to deny his fussing except Hyukjae and Leeteuk. Even Heechul lets the Witch of the Hearth corner him and push a wellness elixir into his grasp and stare him down until it’s gone.

It’s clear something isn’t right because instead of trailing after Doyoung and basking in his fussing Yuta is nowhere to be seen.

Even Injunnie’s spell pouches may as well be hex bags for all the good they’re doing. Magic is magic and instead of comforting warmth any time Hyuck reaches for it, instead it feels like something oily running slick over his skin and down his back.

It doesn’t take much to guess the source of the Souring, but what to do about it is harder to grasp. Hyuck’s brain feels like mush and he just wants someone else to deal with it.

But seeing Taeyong and Yuta emerge from their rooms with their hair a furious shade of red makes Hyuck’s stomach roil worse than his own magic does.

Because there is only one person in white Stone capable of making Taeyong and Yuta angry enough to cause the magic to sour.

Whatever is going on with Johnny again doesn’t let up because the magic feels _worse_ the next day. Renjun, as the most susceptible to their magical surroundings, is taking it harder than all of them.

They end up in the sunshine of the training arena again because anywhere closer to the Heart makes the blood pound in Hyuck’s ears and he can’t imagine what it must feel like for Injunnie.

But even a reprieve from the castle doesn’t do Injunnie much good. It doesn’t take long before Renjun takes another turn, his face pale, his skin slick with sweat and his eyes glassy.

Hyuck’s stomach jolts and he reaches out as Injunnie slumps, listing to the side and Hyuck tries to take his weight.

"Hyuckie, I don't feel good," Renjun murmurs, his voice thick like his tongue is too big in his mouth.

Hyuck has never hated Jeno more than in this moment for not being here when they need him. But Jaemin never left his rooms this morning and luckily Jeno isn't the only muscled soldier Hyuckie knows these days.

"Hyuck!" Xuxi calls, voice piqued in concern as he jogs across the training yard.

"I need to get him back inside," Hyuck says as Xuxi reaches them, his voice eerily calm, even to himself.

Xuxi just nods and kneels down, offering his back.

"Help him up," he says and Hyuck guides Renjun’s weight from himself over to Xuxi, who stands up like Injunnie weighs nothing.

Considering how well defined Xuxi’s muscles are, well, _everywhere_, it’s likely not far from the truth.

Stumbling ahead of them, Hyuck leads Xuxi back up towards the castle and it’s almost like the Heart is taking care of them, because it seems to take less time than normal.

There are two Witch Guard at their post near the entrance. And while they're new to White Stone, Sehyoon and Donghun have withstood a lot of Hyuck’s teasing and distractions inside the Heart and he likes them well enough.

They’re quick to respond as well, glancing between each other sharply before Sehyoon goes running off.

“He’ll have Doyoung-ssi or Heechul-ssi meet you, Prince Donghyuck,” Donghun says, lingering at his post a little awkwardly. Hyuck nods, flashing him what feels like an empty smile while the Witch Guard stares at Xuxi, brows pinched as he sizes Xuxi up.

Soldier or not, the Guard really don’t like outsiders inside the castle proper let alone the Witches apartments.

But Hyuck isn’t about to surrender Injunnie over to just anyone and he trusts Xuxi. He’s holding Injunnie carefully, trusted with Hyuck’s dearest friend.

Witch Guard or not, Donghun doesn’t quite qualify.

Hyuck can’t help but wonder just who would.

The corridors up to the Witches private wing are quiet and empty, a consequence of the Souring leaving most of the coven not leaving their rooms at all.

Renjun’s room opens for Hyuck without prompting and his heart aches for the Heart, who is clearly as upset about her coven as he is. Injunnie’s rooms aren’t quite as well kept as they usually are, but an unmade bed makes it easier to set him down and Renjun flops over listlessly as soon as Xuxi sets him onto the mattress.

“I hate this, Hyuckie,” Renjun mutters, barely audible and Hyuck clicks his tongue.

“I know. But don’t worry, okay; I’ll figure it out. Do you need me to get you anything? Where’s your box?”

Renjun nods and Hyuck stands up, pushing Xuxi aside so he can pilfer through the mess of blankets on Renjun’s chaise lounge for the familiar wooden spellbox. It’s a beautiful thing, elegantly engraved with intricate plants and runes and large enough it’s almost unwieldy to carry. But Renjun always makes easy work of it.

Normally it won’t even open for him; like Hyuck’s cards, Renjun’s Spell box is precious to Renjun and what’s more is that its contents are _powerful_.

He’s the only one short of Yesung or Leeteuk with access to some of the Heart’s most powerful ingredients and it’s a testament to how trustworthy Injunnie is that it’s permitted at all.

“What do you need?” he asks, sitting down on the bed with the box open between them. Renjun’s eyes are a little glazed, barely open and Hyuck mournfully reaches out to brush his hair out of his eyes. Renjun swats at him with a scowl but it’s easy to tell he has a fever and a high one. He doesn’t have the energy for true Injunnie anger and Hyuck swallows down the lump in his throat.

“Willowbark powder, millwell oil, ground valerian root, and honey,” Renjun says and Hyuck takes both powder bottles out and sets them in the empty little groove in the lid for separating his ingredients.

“Here, mix it with this,” Xuxi says, handing Hyuck a cup half filled with water. He takes the cup and starts mixing together the small tincture and helping Renjun hold the cup so it doesn’t spill. It must taste unpleasant because he makes a face but settles back down without anymore fuss.

He falls asleep quickly, arm flopping over his face to block out the sun and it leaves Hyuck feeling strangely empty. He can feel Xuxi staring at him somewhere across the room, but everything feels far away and empty. The only thing left is a burning anger that only seems to grow the moment he acknowledges its existence.

He is _tired_, tired of the chaos that Johnny’s return has brought to the Heart. Tired that those he cares for keep getting hurt.

He slowly goes about replacing the bottles and powders into Injunnie’s spell box and gently closes the lid.

He’s probably going to regret this later, but right now he doesn’t. Right now, it’s all he wants.

_Hurry,_ the sunshine whispers.

He stands up and marches over to where Xuxi is standing a little awkwardly by the window, like he’s too afraid of touching anything in the room.

“Here, hide this,” Hyuck says, shoving the box at Xuxi and the soldier stares at him, eyes bulging.

“What? Where?”

“Up your shirt or something. I need it!” he hisses, giving Xuxi a shove before turning back to Renjun whose eyes barely flutter as he slips further into what is hopefully going to be a restful sleep.

Hyuck doesn’t look back at the soldier, trusting that Xuxi will do as Hyuck wants him to, because there isn’t any time left as Doyoung lets himself into the room with only the barest knock as warning.

Doyoung looks tired, exhausted even, and Hyuck hates that too. There are shadows under his hyung’s eyes and there are streaks of grey and red through his hair like ashes and embers.

But his hands aren’t black or blistering with molten cracks when he reaches out to cup Hyuck by the cheeks and tilt his head up.

“Are you okay, Donghyuckie?” he asks, tenderly, and Hyuck closes his eyes.

“Injunnie’s sick,” he says, heart cracking and Doyoung hums.

“It’s hit you all so hard,” Doyoung frowns, stroking Hyuck’s hair.

“Did you sleep last night?”

“I tried,” he tells the Witch of Hearth and Home, because it’s the truth. He’s too wary, too heartsore and tired to lie to Doyoung.

“You should try again, duckling,” Doyoung hums, cocking his head to the side as he seems to notice Xuxi for the first time. He’s still standing by the window, looking just as large and unwieldy as he had before Doyoungie arrived. But Hyuck can’t see Injunnie’s spell box and he breathes a little easier.

“This is your soldier is it?” Doyoung asks Hyuck who nods, too tired to bother with being embarrassed anymore.

“Take him back to his rooms, they’re only a few doors up,” Doyoung tells Xuxi, who nods. Doyoung gently presses a kiss to the crown of Hyuck’s head and it tingles like magic.

He doesn’t move though, stuck in his place halfway across the room until he watches Doyoung turn the rest of his attention on Renjun.

“He wanted a tincture,” Hyuck says when Doyoung notices the cup on the bedside table.

“Thankyou for telling me,” Doyoung says and turns his gaze on Xuxi, who Hyuck hadn’t noticed cross the room and was standing right in front of him.

“Come on, Hyuck,” Xuxi says softly, offering him his hand. Hyuck takes it and lets him lead them back out of Injunnie’s room. He lets Xuxi lead the way completely, still feeling a little braindead, but Xuxi seems to know where he’s going.

“How do you know where my room is?” he asks dumbly as the soldier pulls Hyuck into the right apartment and Xuxi flashes him a half-hearted smile.

“There’s a sun on the door,” he says a little jovially and Hyuck can’t help but huff, amused despite how awful that truth is.

He wanders over and slumps down on the foot of his bed, rubbing at his eyes. He’s _tired_; he’s just so tired and mercy be, the Souring is making him feel wrong. Unsettled and ill and he _hates_ it.

“Where do you want this?” Xuxi asks quietly, all of a sudden, and Hyuck looks up to see him holding gingerly onto Renjun’s Spell Box.

Hyuck knows he could very easily sleep, just like Doyoungie wants him to. But looking at Xuxi, looking at the Spell box, he doesn’t want to. Not when he can do more.

He feels a little guilty, especially since Injunnie will _absolutely_ skin him alive once he’s coherent enough to realise the box is missing. But right now he’s is still too angry to really care as he takes the box out of Xuxi’s hands.

It’s still unlocked, coming open under Hyuck’s fingers like it wants to be used as he sets it down on the bed. There is so much he can do with what is here.

Most of it he could find in the apothecaries, or freshly dried down at the entrance to the Witchwood. But there are also rarer items that the elder witches keep out of the stores. Items they keep locked away to avoid moments _exactly_ like this, Hyuck thinks, as he runs his hands over the large collection of crushed powders and dried herbs.

Hyuck could very easily poison Johnny with the ingredients Injunnie has collected; and he has enough cause to do it, considering how much chaos the soldier has brought back to White Stone.

But he still cares far too much to go that far. If something had taken Taeyong or Renjun, if either of them had slipped away because of Johnny then not even Tennie would be able to stop Hyuck.

But he’s is too exhausted, too furious to let the lumbering oaf continue bringing illness to those he cares about and there is plenty Hyuck can do that doesn’t result in a funeral pyre.

It’s not the first hex bag Hyuck has ever made; it had actually been one of the first things Injunnie and he had done with the beautiful oak box Renjun’s family had sent him some six months after he had arrived at the Heart.

They had been fourteen and curses were easy. Curses _are_ easy; they’re the easiest spells to manage because malice is powerful. Anger is like a fuel and Hyuck knows it, knows it well, and still doesn’t care.

He just wants Johnny to know what he’s done, to feel the discomfort he’s caused those Hyuck cares for.

Xuxi settles down on the bed on the other side of Renjun’s box and just watches, and Hyuck wishes his presence was enough to stop what he’s doing. But it’s not.

Xuxi just watches quietly as Hyuck presses rose thorns between sprigs of lavender and spindleweed, ashbane and milthorn; wrapping the bundle too tight with rough twine and poison ivy.

It's a simple, bitter little curse, a childish burn, but Hyuck is angry.

He makes three of them, tucking each little bundle inside a familiar little pouch and they’re almost indistinguishable from the sleeping spells Taeil had put together two days ago. Or the hundreds he’s seen Injunnie make before.

They’re not meant to look wrong, after all, not unless someone looks inside the bag.

The hard part will be betting them into Johnny's rooms, but he's known for his ingenuity and even if that fails he's made more than enough to account for failure.

He only needs one to make sure Johnny will feel the consequences of his failures.

This is the Heart, and they protect their own. They’re _family_, they’re the only family Hyuck has left, and Johnny used to be a part of that.

But it’s been five years.

He left Taeyongie for five years and has come back with ruin dogging his footsteps and Hyuck will not let it stand.

Xuxi just watches.

He’s so quaint and quiet, seemingly entranced by everything Hyuck does but his curiosity isn’t enough to break the silence.

He doesn’t even touch the hex bags as Hyuck puts them together, and given everything Hyuck knows about the boy so far, that makes it a miracle.

“Will you do something for me?” Hyuck asks as he winds the last few centremetres of rough twine around the last of his spell components. He doesn’t look up at the lingering soldier. He can feel Xuxi’s heavy gaze, feel the weight of his concern.

He’s thankful that Xuxi’s stayed, that he’s lingered this long where he definitely shouldn’t be.

If Shindong or Siwon find him then he’ll be done for, regardless of the fact Hyuck is an adult _and_ a Witch Prince. Or that Xuxi is one of Johnny’s soldiers.

Their safety is paramount to the Witch Guard, and these rooms, their apartments are meant to be one of the safest places in the entire Heart.

And here Hyuck feels safe, he feels at ease with Xuxi, allowing him to see even the ugliest parts of him.

“What do you need, Hyuckie?” Xuxi replies, his voice even and deep, reassuring and calm.

“Put this in Johnny’s room,” he says, holding out the last finished hex bag.

It doesn’t take a scholar to know what it is. Especially Xuxi, who seems to know just as many of the plants and flowers in the witchwood as Hyuck does.

“You know I can’t do that,” Xuxi replies, his voice soft and even and he holds Hyuck’s gaze, refusing to blink or look away.

Hyuck scoffs, angry at the soldier for turning him down, angry at Johnny for hurting his family, angry at himself.

“Then I’ll do it myself,” he says, standing up. The hex bags feel heavy in his grasp as he takes all three of them with him, stalking out of the room without looking back.

Xuxi doesn’t call after him, nor does he follow. He lets Hyuck go, and somehow that hurts more than being refused.

*

He feels a vindictive sort of glee seeing the tired slump to Johnny’s shoulders the next morning. The way he folds in on himself while poking at his breakfast.

It’s a simple curse and easy to take root, so long as it’s kept within short distance of its intended targets and Hyuck has taken no chances, hiding the first of them tucked between the mattress and wall of Johnny’s bed, the second set in the second drawer of his writing desk and the last of them tied under the very chair Johnny is sitting at right now.

Small corrupting little hexes taking root in the simplest, easiest vulnerabilities. Lost thoughts and lingering anxieties impossible to shift. Food turning sour and inedible and sleep an impossible, improbable luxury. Sleep is precious, after all; it heals, and it renews and those are two things Hyuck doesn’t want the lumbering Commander to have until he’s fixed what he’s broken.

Thankfully something seems to have changed between Taeyongie and Yuta because Hyuck spots the two of them in the rose garden in the early morning looking calmer than they have in days and by noon the Souring feels softer. The acidic taste in the back of Hyuck’s throat starts dissolving and even his runes are quieter.

_Forgiveness takes time, and a toll,_ the sunshine murmurs as Hyuck lingers on his balcony, cheeks pressed up against the balustrade as he traces the intricate knots and whorls in the metalwork.

It’s lonely, lingering in his rooms. He’s a social creature by nature and while the Souring has made seeking company easier - almost everyone more than willing to accept a cuddle partner or three - it’s also made it harder because the only company Hyuck wants is Xuxi.

And well, he’s a little wary of how the soldier might see him now, how Xuxi might feel after what Hyuck had asked him.

Worst of all he’s afraid Xuxi might ask if he’s sorry, and he’s _not_.

Seeing the shadows in Johnny’s eyes from missed sleep, watching him poke at his food without eating a single bite fulfils the vindictive part of him that he cannot pretend does not exist.

He has missed Johnny, terribly, but those feelings are old, the memories of a child Hyuck isn’t anymore.

Xuxi might have his loyalties, but so does Hyuck and the Heart has taught him the importance of protecting his own. Protecting his _family_. They only have each other, each of them have lost everything they once had in order to be here.

Some of them are lucky, some of them like Jaemin and Jeno have each other, they have a connection, a partnership that exists beyond the rest of the Heart.

Hyuck doesn’t. He only has himself. He only has the coven, the _family_, and if no one else will protect them then he will.

Even if that means protecting them against Johnny.

Renjun and Jaemin are thankfully feeling a little more human by the next day and it’s a little less lonely with his friends no longer malingering.

Though it only takes until mid-morning before Renjun realises that there are ingredients missing from his Spell Box.

Hyuck doesn’t even bother trying to lie.

“This is why Doyoung told you to stay out of it,” Renjun sighs after Hyuck explains what he stole and what he’s done with it.

“Yeah well he’s still part of this whole problem. He’s one of the reasons you got sick,” Hyuck replies sourly.

“Yuta and Taeyongie are just angry, they didn’t mean for this to happen. Doyoungie explained it to me yesterday.”

“Yes, well I’m still not sorry.”

Renjun sighs and Hyuck can see how tired he still is. He’s definitely feeling better, that’s obvious by the fact one of the first things he’s done this morning is seek Hyuck out to yell at him for stealing.

But all Hyuck can see is his friend still recovering. All he can feel is the echoes of that panic when Renjun had looked at him and asked for help.

“Well at least make sure you get rid of the hex bags before Johnny loses his mind completely, okay? The last thing we need is if he shows up on Taeyongie’s doorstep crying because he hasn’t slept in a week.”

“I’ll think about it,” Hyuck says, with no intention of doing anything quite yet.

It’s only been a day, after all.

However, it’s clear two days later that his hex bags are gone without Hyuck having to do a thing.

And it’s obvious who Xuxi ended up telling from the way Johnny’s young lieutenant, Mark, keeps shooting Hyuck daggers across the dining hall while they both stare at Johnny finally eating a decent meal for the first time in days.

But while Mark clearly knows, and Renjun obviously knows, _Johnny_ himself seems none the wiser and so Hyuck doesn’t particularly care about the glares and scowling from the baby-faced lieutenant.

He’s more than prepared to deal with whatever the soldier has to say and is more than willing to remind him just where they are if the need arises.

This is the Heart and Hyuck is a Witch Prince and short of Xuxi’s word, there’s no actual proof Hyuck had anything to do with Johnny’s miserable last few days.

Not that Hyuck has much time to think on Mark and what the soldier may or may not know.

The Heart never stops and there is always more important things to be dealing with. Especially now that they’re days behind in their Spellwork. And considering the state of the borders lately, staying blind for so long could have lasting consequences if they can’t get a firm grasp on what exactly they’ve missed.

Not that it’s easy. The Souring might have finally cleared, but there are remnants still lingering like it hasn’t entirely been scrubbed clean.

Yuta is guiding them through an amplified scrying spell the following morning when an oily and ill feeling starts to build. It feels like an aftertaste that keeps getting worse and by the time Yuta breaks the threads far quicker than he normally would, cutting them all off with a _snap_, Hyuck’s head is spinning and Jaemin is trembling so badly he drops to his knees and barely stops from braining himself on the Heart Stone.

Hyuck just sits down heavily as Jeno finishes making his panicked dash towards them and watches dumbly as the young Witch Guard starts fussing over Jaemin.

Jeno isn’t the only one rushing forward either, Hyuck notes, as his brain starts filtering the rest of the room back in. Renjun and Jisung are kneeling in front of a dumbfounded looking Chenle who looks as pale as a sheet, while Leeteuk is peering worriedly at Yuta who is too busy retching to notice much, a shaking, white-faced Doyoung holding his hair back despite the fact he was part of the spell as well and barely looks like he’s able to stand up.

Hyuck just feels lonely all of a sudden. He just really wants Xuxi.

“Are you with me, Hyuckie?” Taeyong asks, his voice soft as it finally comes into focus and Hyuck wonders idly if he had been sitting there the whole time.

“What was that?” he asks, stupidly, and Taeyong makes a face as he reaches out to brush the back of his hand over Hyuck’s forehead.

“I think the magic’s still sour. We were too eager to catch up on lost time,” Taeyong replies.

“That’s stupid.”

“It is. Are you feeling okay? Is it lingering at all?”

“No,” he says, truthfully. His head is no longer spinning, and he can feel the sunshine crooning at him mournfully as she bounces around the staccato ceiling of the Heart.

Thankfully it doesn’t linger. By noon the magic feels right again and most of the ill effects seem to have passed them by.

But Hyuck’s desire to see Xuxi again doesn’t.

It’s been nearly three full days since he stormed out of his own bedroom with his hands full of curses and leaving his soldier alone in the one place he really shouldn’t be.

He hasn’t even really been brave enough to check on Xuxi through other means. It would be easy to get one of the other witches to tell him how Xuxi is doing. Or even the castle staff.

Mercy be, he could even read the soldiers cards again if he really wanted to.

But his hands have been shaking every time he shuffles his deck and for the first time he is wary of looking to the future.

Every time he has cast the cards, looking towards the Wall and the impending war he has come up empty.

The No Eyed Raven staring back from every cast. A future unwritten, blind to even the Sun.

He cannot stand the thought of looking for Xuxi and finding only an empty future.

Especially when theirs is not lost quite yet.

There is still time.

And Hyuck is not the only one who thinks so, it seems.

For all his little fears, he never once considered that Xuxi would be waiting for him, just outside the Heart like always.

His face lights up with a familiar smile the moment he spots Hyuck and for a moment he’s struck a little dumb, standing in the archway of the Heart like an idiot.

“Go put him out of his misery, Hyuckie,” Suhae mutters, the Witch Guard smirking from his spot at the doors of the Heart and Hyuck really wants to turn tail and run because he hates that everyone knows. That everyone can see how much Xuxi affects him.

And then he looks at his soldier, standing a little awkwardly, like he’s not sure if Hyuck wants him to be there and all the fear disappears.

Mercy be, it’s not fair what this boy does to him. Not fair that he can have all of this and none of it at the same time.

That he can feel like he’s chased him away, and yet Xuxi keeps coming back and all of it will be for nothing when the soldier eventually, _inevitably_ marches back to the Wall.

But he is too greedy to let it all go quite yet.

And neither, it seems, is Xuxi.

“Are you okay?” his soldier asks as Hyuck finally plucks the courage up to leave the shadow of the Heart and come to a stop in front of him.

It takes Hyuck a beat to realise why Xuxi might be asking and he nods. It’s been days, after all, since he’s seen Xuxi last and the Heart has been a mess the entire time.

“I’m okay now,” he says nodding in the direction of the gardens and Xuxi follows without hesitation.

“I heard something happened this morning though,” Xuxi’s concern is easy to read, it’s plain across his face, his worry a genuine thing and Hyuck offers him a timid smile.

“We did too much too quickly, that’s all,” he says around the sour feeling in his mouth, like an aftertaste of the mornings backlash.

But Xuxi doesn’t let him brush off his concern so easily, and Hyuck can’t help but feel a familiar sort of vulnerability, the way he had when the soldier had found him underneath Renjun’s tangerine tree and the words slip off his tongue without thinking.

“I didn’t think I’d see you again,” he admits quietly and Xuxi grabs him by the hand, pulling him close. “I thought I might have scared you off.”

“I’m not that easy to scare,” Xuxi smiles, with an honesty that hurts.

Because that is what Hyuck is afraid of.

He doesn’t want a hero.

But he does want Xuxi.

And he’s starting to think maybe those two things are one in the same.

*

Hyuck has never felt more like a Witch Prince than he has in the days since Taemin and Jongin left White Stone.

He’s spent every dawn in the Heart, split between his duties as a witch, and his duties as a Prince. He spends the first hour tense as a bowstring as news filters in, ravens arriving just after first light and the War Room is littered with incoming news from both the Black City and the Wall.

None of it bodes well.

News from the Black City has been wary of the ongoing quiet through the mountains. The effortless silence on every front that had permitted so many soldiers to return home has given way to an anxious Witch King and wary Queen.

And the short bursts of fighting along the Wall are becoming more and more frequent. Junmyeon and Jongin both agree that the pockets of soldiers are definitely scouting parties for a much larger oncoming fight and even Hyuck with his limited knowledge of war tactics can’t help but agree.

Yuta has been keeping a focused weather eye as far as he possibly can, spending increasing amounts of time scrying for any sign of the impending fight and despite his continual empty cards, Hyuck still tries. Still casts down every morning hoping to find something other than a blind raven staring back at him. 

But despite days of empty threads and blind futures, it’s obvious something has solidified the day the news comes in. There is an itch down Hyuck’s spine from the moment he wakes up, something eerily familiar from the morning he spent before Taeyong’s storm.

But it’s not Taeyong at the heart of the problem this time. It doesn’t take Hyuck long at all to realise where the heart of his dread lies.

Ravens have been flocking out of the northern towers just after they break their casting for breakfast and do not stop until Leeteuk calls Hyuck and Taeyong to a private meeting a few hours past noon.

It is just the three of them, the three Witch Princes currently stationed at White Stone

“News has come in from the Crown; the soldiers are being recalled to the Wall,” Leeteuk says and it feels as if Hyuck’s heart just drops into the pit of his stomach.

“What? When?” he croaks, trying to keep a hold over his floundering self-control. He clenches his hands into a fist, pressing his nails deep into his palms and Taeyong quickly rests his own over the top, quelling Hyuck’s unnoticed shaking.

There is only a quiet pity in Taeyong’s eyes and Hyuck looks away, searching out Leeteuk’s warm gaze and holding it still.

He is a Prince. He is completely capable of keeping his composure; he is capable of it here and now.

He does not want this, but he will endure it. Because he has to.

That’s what Taeyong did, after all.

He endured it.

And he’s known, after all, that this was coming. That Xuxi has never, ever been going to stay.

But it still hurts.

“That will be up to the Commander, but the orders are to march out with haste. His contingent will be leaving three days from now.”

Three days.

Hyuck nods and looks down at where Taeyong has a strong hold over their joined hands and Hyuckie holds back just as tight.

“It is the price we all pay,” Leeteuk says, standing up to move the military marker currently resting atop the map of White Stone back towards the long line of its brethren.

“For what must be done.”

*

Xuxi is waiting for him the next morning as he leaves the Heart and even just looking at him is enough to make Hyuck want to cry a bit.

He doesn’t know what would be worse, turning into a blubbering mess or not, so he just tries to cling to being a functional human without any emotions at all.

It doesn’t work.

Xuxi is just as despondent as he is and he falls in line without saying anything, just walking alongside Hyuck as he avoids the training ground in favour of the lower gardens.

Whether or not Xuxi will be missed at training goes unsaid, and neither of them actually say anything at all until they leave the open eyes of the Heart for the more secluded gardens.

Hyuck didn’t know Xuxi was capable of being quiet this long and he almost wants to laugh when the older boy finally cracks under the strain.

“You heard then?” he says, his voice small, like he’s afraid of what Hyuck might say. That Hyuck might be angry at him and not at the future they’re both stuck in.

“Last night,” he says, glibly. “One of the perks of being a Prince; you get the news right away.”

“Oh. Yeah, Kun-ge told us last night too. The Queen wants us back before anything happens.”

Xuxi looks as despondent as Hyuck feels and he slips his hand into Xuxi’s before he can even think about second guessing it. The soldier jolts in surprise but he closes his fingers over Hyuck’s own, almost engulfing him, and the warm little feeling in Hyuck’s chest starts growing again.

“Well, that’s at least not for a few days? You still have time for me, right?” he asks, staring up at Xuxi with an exaggerated pout and Xuxi blushes, giggling and looking away, his free hand reaching up to ruffle the back of his head.

“Xuxiiiii,” Hyuck whines and rises up onto his toes to push himself further into Xuxi’s personal space. This is easy, this is territory Hyuck walks all the time. Not with handsome soldiers, of course, but with his friends.

Pushing himself forward and into space not usually his own.

But Xuxi doesn’t back away, instead the grip on Hyuck’s hand seems to tighten and instead of ruffling the back of his hair Xuxi’s other hand reaches forward to stabilise Hyuck around his waist and, all of a sudden, he's painfully aware of how close they are.

Xuxi is ridiculously tall, but it doesn't matter with Hyuck crowding him like he is. Xuxi has him locked close; his hands are beautifully warm as they hold him in place. It would almost be rude to let this moment go.

Hyuck’s heart is pounding against his ribs but it's a thrill instead of fear as he inches a little closer.

Xuxi’s eyes are wide as they flicker down to Hyucks lips and that's all Hyuck really needs.

Their first kiss is nervous and sweet. It's gentle, almost.

It's not Hyuck’s first kiss, but it _feels_ like it is.

He feels a giddy rush down his spine and when they break apart, he is beaming, and Xuxi takes one wide-eyed look and starts nervously giggling again.

Hyuck smacks him.

"You're ruining it," he scolds and Xuxi’s smile is _beautiful_.

"Sorry, sorry!" He says. Cupping Hyucks cheek in an enormous hand and leaning in to kiss him again.

The second time is better, Xuxi’s lips are soft and warm and he’s not quite so nervous. Best of all Hyuck can feel Xuxi smiling into it and his heart is almost full to bursting.

And then someone shouts from somewhere inside the castle and that's all it takes to break the spell, the two of them pulling apart with a panicked little laugh, terrified of being caught.

Xuxi looks almost small, shoulders hunching in on himself, hand over his mouth as he giggles, and something vibrant and fond unfurls in Hyuck's chest.

_Mercy be_ he wants this boy forever, and its suddenly not such a terrifying thought as perhaps it should be.

He certainly doesn't want to run away, he just wants Xuxi to kiss him again.

"Come with me," he says, offering the soldier his hand. Xuxi takes it without hesitation and the Sunshine burns happily against Hyuckie's back.

The gardens are all in full bloom as he leads Xuxi deep into the alcoves and flowers. It’s quiet and calm and it is as if the entire world fades away.

There is only the two of them, even the birds seem to soar over them as they settle under the boughs of a cherry tree.

Hyuck is nervous again, but in a quiet way where his whole body feels alive. He’s not afraid, just eager for every moment about to come.

Hyuck has never been so fond of the gardens in his life, in the ways that the looping roads offer endless corners for them to hide. He has spent years here, wandering the enormous landscape of the castle proper, and yet with Xuxi it is all new, all precious.

It is as if the Heart is keeping them safe from prying eyes, like she knows Hyuck wants this only for himself. Only for them.

They end up under the gentle shade of an enormous cherry tree Hyuck remembers fondly from when he was young and still afraid of all the Heart had to offer.

And now the same tree hides him from the Heart again; keeps his secrets safe, his trembling, eager-hearted fear.

And Xuxi lets him. Xuxi follows, letting Hyuck lead him into corridors of plants and vines and treetops he has never seen before.

Xuxi seems braver than Hyuck has ever been and he presses that revelation into a gentle kiss. He summons every shred of his worry and fear and uses it to offer Xuxi just as much as Xuxi has given him.

Xuxi’s lips are soft, and his kiss is eager, like he has wanted this just as long as Hyuck has. And he hates that it has taken this much, taken them this long. But it feels like a victory.

It feels as if the rest of the world doesn’t exist and Hyuck can’t help but giggle, breaking the kiss to laugh, his chest tight with a giddiness he can do nothing with except give to Xuxi in a peppering of kisses over any part he can reach as Xuxi seems to shrink in on himself with that nervous laugh of his own that dissolves into something bright and bursting.

The sunshine is beaming, Hyuck can feel her hot and happy on his skin as Xuxi kisses him again.

And then a burst of magic seems to sear through the air and Hyuck gasps, breaking the kiss as it burns through him.

Xuxi looks concerned and Hyuck laughs, slumping a little as he rests his forehead against Xuxi’s own, eyes closed as if the entire Heart seems to _shiver. _

He wishes he could tell him he’s okay, explain how it had felt as magic seemed to just _rush_ through him setting all his nerves alight.

But before he can find his voice again a heavy warm drop of rain hits his cheek. And then another, and another.

They’re a little protected where they are, half hidden under the boughs of the cherry tree, but it’s a beautiful sight as he opens his eyes again to watch as the gentle patter of warm summer rain starts scattering over the grass.

_The Heart has returned to the Storm,_ the Sunshine whispers happily and she is _thrumming_.

“Hyuckie?” Xuxi asks, eyes wide and there is a shadow of worry in his gaze that seems to melt away with the tension in his shoulders as Hyuck smiles at him.

“He’s so _happy_, Xuxi,” Hyuck says, kissing the surprise off his soldier’s face.

There is _joy_ in the air so bright and palpable Hyuck can’t help but laugh, fingers tight in the damp strands of Xuxi’s hair and the soldier’s hands warm around his waist. He tips his head up to face the sun scattering through the branches and leaves and enjoys the warm cascade of a summer storm tingling against his skin.

It has been so long since Taeyong’s magic has felt like this.

Since the Heart has felt like this.

It feels like a victory.

It feels like a _promise_.

*

The news spreads around the Heart faster than Hyuck has known anything. It is as if everyone knows all at once that Taeyong and Johnny have mended ways.

That Taeyong and Johnny have _bonded._

And Hyuck is happy to let them have the spotlight, happy to keep Xuxi entirely to himself.

Because it had been the entire castle’s quiet hope from the moment news had come in that Johnny was set to return that perhaps the old future was possible. But when Taeyong had let a storm slip over the prefecture that had nearly flooded the river that feeling had settled back into a quiet, almost non-existent hope.

No one had even murmured it aloud from the moment Johnny had stepped foot back in White Stone. It had seemed as if that future had been beyond them. Even Hyuck hadn’t quite hoped for _that._ He wanted Johnny back, wanted Taeyong happy again.

Wanted them to find their peace with each other.

A Binding had not been on the cards.

Heh.

Though in many ways she had been.

Johnny’s cards had cast Justice and the Scholar after all; a future of harmony and spiritual balance, if found through somewhat unconventional means.

“I _told_ you all they had to do was talk,” Doyoung keeps saying smugly as almost the entire coven is slumped around the Heart waiting for Taeyong’s walk of shame.

Leeteuk had shut himself away in the War Room almost an hour before dawn and everyone else is eager to snoop as much as they can.

“Dons, baby, I love you, but they _definitely_ didn’t do a lot of talking,” Yuta says from where he’s lying happily between Doyoung’s thighs, the Witch of the Hearth running his fingers through Yuta’s long hair.

“The ritual wouldn’t have worked if they hadn’t come clean,” Doyoung tries to defend himself but even from where Hyuck is lying across half a dozen cushions he can hear the moment Yuta claims the prize Doyoung left completely out in the open.

“The only coming they did, baby, was all over each other – _ow_!”

Jungwoo’s laugh is the loudest as Yuta and Doyoung start squabbling happily until the entire Heart goes painfully quiet and all eyes turn to where Taeyong is lurking in the arched entrance of the Heart with Johnny standing beside him.

Taeyong’s cheeks are red with embarrassment, but the look he shoots Johnny is incredibly fond when the Commander takes him by the hand and pulls him forward towards the War Room where Leeteuk is waiting.

But Taeyong goes in alone and Johnny is left to the vultures.

It feels like an echo of another time, Hyuck thinks, watching Yuta and Doyoung descend on Johnny.

It has been so long since they were together like this, united in something other than the gaping distance between their history together and their futures apart.

But Johnny isn’t separate anymore. In joining with Taeyong, in finally cementing a Bond they had been meant to have all their lives, Johnny isn’t a stranger anymore.

It’s part of who they are, Heechul always used to say. Once you reach the Heart, once you come home to it, you are family.

Johnny has been here, in White Stone for nearly a month, but it’s only now that he’s come home.

Taeyong’s Witch Guard, as he was always meant to be.

“Are you scared?” Renjun asks looking at Jeno who cannot look away from where Johnny is standing.

And it’s obvious why.

Jeno and Jaemin’s own Binding ceremony is set to be on the winter solstice, the first pair to attempt it in years. Johnny must seem like a daydream or a nightmare all rolled into one. Like a fountain of answers where there have been none and more questions than there has ever been asked. But while Hyuck can see the uncertainty in Jeno, a quiet familiar sort of fear; Jaemin is resolute.

“No. There’s nothing to be afraid of so long as you do it _properly,_” he says, tucking his chin on top of Jeno’s head. And it’s this sort of bond that Hyuck envies most, that it’s like Jaemin knows exactly how unsettled Jeno is and just fixes it, without thinking, his body moving without thought and without Jeno even making a sound.

It’s this sort of thing he thought he wanted.

Now, he’ll settle for just having Xuxi at all. He’ll settle for more time.

But the decisions have been made long before Hyuck even met his soldier. From the moment Xuxi entered White Stone he was always, _always_ going to leave.

Hyuck is just afraid of how much Xuxi will take of him when he goes. How much he’ll let the soldier have willingly.

*

Xuxi is waiting just outside the Heart when Hyuck abandons the others to their gossiping.

Taeyongie still hasn’t emerged from the War Room and as much as Hyuck wants to indulge in his family’s joy, he simply cannot forget that this might very well be the last day he has with his own soldier.

Their time is almost up, and he is trying very hard not to panic.

But there is a joy in the familiarity as Xuxi takes him by the hand and leads him down into the gardens.

The sun is bright overhead and, despite how unsteady Hyuck has felt all morning, simply being in Xuxi’s company is all it takes to calm him down.

The rest of the world, and what comes with it, feels far away as they curl up down by the flowerbeds.

The world feels endless as Hyuck folds himself around Xuxi’s back, letting the enormous soldier slump in the grass like a cat.

Something precious unfurls in Hyuck’s chest as he feels Xuxi’s heart beating, as he listens to him breathe. It is somehow more precious than Hyuck had ever thought, to simply hold onto a boy he cares for as if nothing else in the world exists.

It is all he wants. Just this.

Just the chance to hold his soldier close and listen to him laugh, listen to his heartbeat as Xuxi toys with his fingers.

“I don’t think I ever asked what these mean?” Xuxi says, pulling Hyuck’s arm out taut so that he can see the curling rune on the back of his own forearm that has caught Xuxi’s attention.

“That one is Rejuvenation,” he says, smiling as Xuxi runs his fingers gently over one of Hyuck’s oldest runes. And he can’t help but laugh in genuine surprise as Xuxi leans in and kisses it.

“What about this one?” Xuxi asks, pressing another kiss to the rune on the inside of Hyuck’s forearm before Hyuck can even really respond short of more laughter. It tickles and he pulls back on reflex and Xuxi giggles, peering back at him through his dark lashes.

“That one is Resilience,” he says, running his other hand through Xuxi’s hair and giving it a gentle pull.

“What about this one?” the soldier asks, turning to the next rune on the inside of Hyuck’s wrist, already pressing a kiss to it before Hyuck can answer.

“Truth.”

“Woah. I don’t know how you can handle getting so many,” Xuxi says softly, still admiring the other intricate knots and runes running along Hyuck’s arms.

“They’re like tattoos, they’re not painless. But they’re worth it,” Hyuck says with a smile.

“Guanheng said he hated getting his.”

"Would you let me give you one?" He asks, face half smushed against Xuxi’s bare shoulder as he draws the shapes for the three-tiered knot against his bicep. 

Xuxi has to crane his head to see Hyuck at all, but he does it.

"I thought you said you'd get in trouble?"

"Only if Teukie finds out."

From this angle he can feel the way the tension grows down Xuxi’s spine.

“Does it hurt?” Xuxi asks and Hyuck can’t help but laugh. 

“I just said they’re like tattoos, Xuxi. It’s going to hurt.”

But Xuxi doesn’t laugh, doesn’t even smile, instead he traces the curves of Donghyuck’s own shielding rune with gentle fingers, his touch barely there.

“That’s not what I meant. Will it hurt _you_?” he asks after a beat of quiet and Hyuck quirks his head.

“You said before it’s like giving me a bit of your magic.”

And Hyuck doesn’t need to be clairvoyant right then to see the future. To feel the way the claws of fate clench down around any hope, to see the fact that Xuxi has already turned him down.

“It’s nothing,” he says, trying to brush away the fact that this hurts more than imbuing any rune ever could.

“It’s not nothing. I can’t take your magic from you, Hyuckie. Not when it’s going to hurt you,” Xuxi says, still frowning at the dark ink under Hyuck’s own skin.

“I don’t care. It would be worth it. I don’t want you to go back to the Wall without it,” he says, his voice small, timid, and it still doesn’t matter.

"I can't," Xuxi says, voice soft and gentle as he finally cranes his head to look at him. His eyes are wide and honest and for a moment Hyuck wants to cry. But he doesn't, he holds himself quiet and tucks his chin back over Xuxi’s shoulder and feels the soldier relax.

"I don't want to hurt you. I _can’t_.”

And just like that, it feels like goodbye.

*

It is well past midnight when Hyuck sneaks past Shindong’s snoring form and out of the Witches apartments.

The castle is quiet and calm, like a breath before a storm; there is only hours left, after all, before their soldiers start to leave once more.

It doesn’t take long before he realises why, pausing along the balustrade to watch Taeil’s moonbeams glittering over the city. And they guide him up towards the eastern tower, wrapping around him like soft tendrils long before he reaches the rooftop.

He feels calmer by the time he reaches the landing and slips quietly out onto the battlements but he’s not sure if he appreciates it.

Taeil is right where Hyuck is expecting him to be, kneeling by the first of many tiered garden boxes. The pots stacked in neat little rows, each one carved with runes that glow softly in the moonlight.

Taeil doesn’t look surprised to see him and Hyuck slumps down onto one of the scattered cushions and watches as the elder witch turns back to the small flower he’s tending, wrapping tiny strings around her long stem to keep her upright while she grows.

Taeil’s little garden is a well-kept secret, even amongst the Witches; though mostly out of minimal interest. It’s a quiet hobby, to keep flowers – especially those who only grow by moonlight and Taeil isn’t loud about his space up here.

Hyuck only knows because he’s nosy.

But there really is nobody better to lure the elusive little plants into life than their Moon Witch himself, and Taeil is quiet by nature. He looks ageless, with his hair a stark white and his trousers cropped at the knees, making him appear somehow smaller than he already is. His sleeves are rolled up to his elbows and his runes glow amongst the flowers he has tattooed along his forearms. He’s always barefoot up here too, and Hyuck doesn’t understand how he’s not freezing.

But every time he asks, Taeil simply grins and shrugs at him, nodding at the moon, who always seems to hang low whenever Hyuck is up here.

Though perhaps it’s just the height difference of being at the top of the castle.

Hyuck crawls over and tucks his head over Taeil’s shoulder to watch him gently turn his attention to the next plant.

“They’re growing so big,” he says in awe, reaching out to touch one of the white peonies and Taeil smacks his hand away.

“Aiii, not for you,” Taeil scolds and Hyuck pouts.

Still, he knows why.

The Sun and the Moon aren’t ever really meant to meet. He’ll ruin the magic if he touches her. She’s a moon flower after all, and Taeillie always spends so long luring each of them into life.

“You heard the news, right?” Hyuck asks, once Taeil has finished tying up the second plant, and he hums his assent, biting his lip and the silver ring there in distraction.

Hyuck hides his face in the soft folds of Taeil’s coat.

“I don’t want them to go.”

“It’s the tall one you like, right?” Taeil says and Hyuck whines, letting his hyung’s chuckles warm him.

“Does everybody know?”

“Only those with eyes,” Taeil replies.

Hyuck scowls and lets himself flop back onto the cushions.

The moon really is hanging low today.

Though given everything going on lately it really is smart that Taeil is trying to keep things calm.

He watches the way the moonbeams float between the clouds, drawing faint echoes of brilliant green and purple through the haze of midnight blue and grey.

“I don’t want him to go,” he says, sadly, fighting the urge to cry. It’s more of a whisper, a quiet honesty he can only admit out loud up here, to Taeil but it has been burning itself on the back of his tongue for hours.

“He’ll be back; the magic wouldn’t draw you so closely to let him go.”

Hyuck feels the words stutter in his chest, building up around the lump he’s felt since he first cast the cards after Jongin and Taemin left. He’s shuffled them so many times, set them out in as many echoes he can, and the answers are still the same, still blinded by the No Eyed Raven.

There is something even the Sun doesn’t want to tell him and his heart aches for it.

“I’m scared, Illie,” he admits, hating the way his voice breaks.

“Oh, little duckling,” Taeil murmurs, tucking himself around Donghyuck’s head and running gentle fingers over the tension in his temples.

“You’ve asked the Sun too many questions and she’s answered you too many times.”

“Why can’t she answer this time too?”

“Because sometimes she doesn’t know. The world is changing. It has to, or we won’t survive. Tennie has been gone too long if you’ve already forgotten the way renewal tastes.”

“Xuxi said they’re assigning them to the wall. Tennie.”

“Sicheng too. You know Boa thinks the Mistborn are regrouping. We all have our places and you will find yours soon. Our boys belong on the wall, it seems.”

And Donghyuck closes his eyes against the burn of tears because Taeil is so kind with his words, with his reprimands, because Donghyuck forgot about Sicheng. He forgot Taeil has not seen his love in months already, and he will not see him still. Because the soldiers are returning to the Wall, and the Black City have decided on who will join them there.

Everyone here will continue aiding the fight from the Witch Heart, but Ten and Sicheng, will be joining the front lines, combining their power through the Soul stones along the wall, protecting the soldiers if the mists start settling in again.

“It’s not fair,” he croaks and Taeil hums, tugging gently at his hair.

“It’s not. But we cherish what we can and give all that we have while we have it.”

“He won’t let me protect him. He won’t let me give him any runes,” Donghyuck mourns, trying to ignore the sting of how it felt when Xuxi turned him down, how the rejection tasted.

“Then we give him something else,” Taeil says gently, and draws a small smiling face on Hyuck’s bare forehead.

*

The last dawn comes quiet and soft, the sky a haze of grey low-hanging clouds and Hyuck knows they’re more his fault than anyone else’s.

Yongie doesn’t have a reason to make the skies sad any longer.

Taeyongie has Johnny and together they seem to have all the time in the world. Hyuck does not.

Worse still, the time left to him isn’t even all his own. He would spend every moment he can with Xuxi, clutching at every last precious second he has.

But first, there is the Heart.

There is always the Heart; the magic takes precedence and that is something Hyuck cannot change.

The Farewell Ceremony is just as simple as the one for the soldier’s initial arrival, but it is only one part of a long morning and it all comes before the soldiers march out at Noon.

There is no time at all for Hyuck to steal Xuxi away.

Not that his soldier would go. Xuxi is too good-hearted, too stalwart and proud to let his brothers march back to the Wall without him.

And as much as he likes Hyuck, this is still new, still such a small and precious thing.

Xuxi’s brothers are his family, and Hyuck cannot ask him to give them up for his own fears. Especially when he knows Xuxi would turn him down.

Xuxi is a soldier, he fights for those who cannot. He is a good man, and the Wall needs those like him.

Hyuck just wishes painfully that he did not need him too.

Not that he has much time left to dwell anymore.

Dawn comes far too quickly after his midnight sojourn with Taeil, and Hyuck feels tired and slow as he dresses in his best for the first of their blessings.

Jungwoo leads the coven as they thread spells of good fortune and health through the Heart, blessing the returning soldiers with all the power the Witch Heart has to give.

It still doesn’t feel like enough.

And worse still is the feeling that latches into the corners of Hyuck’s heart as he leaves the castle and finds Xuxi isn’t waiting for him.

It’s such a small thing, a tiny premonition of what is about to happen and yet it hurts far more than he anticipated it would.

The walk to the soldiers barracks is a short one, and yet each step feels like he’s walking the gallows.

This is goodbye, after all. The moment he’s been dreading for weeks and he’s not entirely sure if he regrets letting any of this happen. Letting Xuxi get past the barriers he’s kept up for far too long.

The door is closed but he can hear muffled shouting on the other side and a familiar laugh that makes his stomach curl, but he swallows down the last of his fear and knocks.

Xuxi isn’t the one to answer the door. Instead it’s a young soldier barely taller than Hyuck with long, mussed hair and a curl to the corner of his lips.

“Yes?”

“Can I speak to Xuxi, please?” he asks with as much politeness as he can muster. It’s probably not a lot. He’s too scattered to be anything but barely held together.

The longhaired soldier crooks his head and peers at Hyuck with a countenance that makes the hair on the back of his neck prickle. But it’s gone almost as quickly as it comes, and the boy’s calculating look turns into a brilliant smile.

“Xuxi! Your sunshine’s here!” he calls and there is a familiar shout that, despite everything, makes Hyuck smile.

Xuxi’s eyes are wide as he half trips over himself in his eagerness to get out the door of the barracks and shut it behind him.

Hyuck can hear the muffled cry of disappointment from the other side but lets it slip away under the heavy gaze of his soldier.

“I didn’t know if I’d see you before the – “ Xuxi trails off, sounding unsure of himself.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to slip away after,” he admits and tries to ignore the disappointment in his chest even admitting that out loud.

Xuxi looks just as forlorn.

“So, this is goodbye then?”

And just hearing those words makes Hyuck want to cry. Because he just _doesn’t know_. This boy, this beautiful boy with the victory card is still a soldier marching back to a war that has been unending for over a decade, a war that is only growing.

There is something coming, something big and not even the Sun or stars can say what it is.

And Xuxi, this soft-hearted boy is going back, marching back in the shadow of his Commander. He is a hero waiting to happen and Hyuck’s heart is almost bursting with the anger of it all.

He nods, simply unable to look Xuxi in the eye and say the words. Because this feels like the eye of a storm and he is blind to it for the first time. This is a longing and a fear he is unfamiliar with, and it is terrifying.

So instead he keeps his eyes downcast as he reaches for his gift.

“I wanted to give you something,” he says, with all the sincerity he can muster.

He thinks of the runes he wants to scrawl all over Xuxi’s skin, the protection marks and spells – the unseeing magic that lingers, the old spells no one can promise even work but are simply too good to pass by.

Xuxi smiles, that lopsided grin that makes Hyuck’s heart beat fast and has to fight not to cry as Xuxi reaches out and tenderly tucks his unruly hair behind his ears.

He leans into the touch without thinking, closing his eyes while they burn, and his fingertips are burning too.

But instead of pressing his fingers against Xuxi’s skin in wishes and promises and ancient spells, he busies himself pulling out the flower with her little wish inside and it’s just as pristine as it had been when Taeil picked it. The moondrop’s petals are just as unearthly white, glowing faintly in the tiny glass bottle Taeillie strung together on a chain.

Xuxi’s eyes are wide as Hyuck offers it out and he looks between Hyuck and the flower and back again and Donghyuck can’t help but giggle around the sob in his chest, because Xuxi’s wonder is palpable.

His joy is pristine.

And he is adorable.

“It’s a moondrop. Taeil-hyung has been growing them since the new year. They’re special, and he let me have one.”

He strings his fingers between the long chain and offers it out. Xuxi ducks low and lets him settle it gently around his neck.

It sits bright and pretty against the open folds of Xuxis uniform and Hyuck touches it gently, one last time before peering up at Xuxi through his lashes.

“Keep it with you and it will keep you safe,” he says.

Xuxi opens his mouth to reply and the bell outside tolls loud through the halls of the barracks. The call to arms steals Xuxi’s words before he can utter them.

And just like that, they’re out of time.

Hyuck shoots him a smile. Tucking away the swirling hurt in his heart and replacing it piece by piece with the memory of Xuxi’s hair flopping gracelessly over his forehead, the glint of amber in his eyes, the sad pout on lips Hyuck desperately wants to kiss.

But there is simply no time left.

“Be safe, Xuxi,” he says, taking a tentative step backwards, out of reach.

But Xuxi pulls him back before he can take another and with his enormous hands cradling Hyuck’s face he kisses him. The kiss is desperate and sad, it is longing and forgiveness and yet Xuxi tastes sweet, still unerringly full of promise, and Hyuck chases the smile he feels curling Xuxi’s lips.

“Wait for me,” Xuxi whispers and Donghyuck nods, eyes closed so he can’t see the fear, the uncertainty.

He wishes he could trust in his cards. He wishes he could trust in his Sunshine.

But he has no answers, only a looming dread that something is not quite right. Something is hidden from him.

The paths aren’t laid yet, the stones unturned.

So, he doesn’t answer.

He _can’t_.

Instead he presses a promise to the corner of Xuxi’s lips and bravely turns away.

His heart is beating a tempo against his ribcage that is going to leave bruises, and by the time he reaches the corridor his hands are shaking so fiercely it feels like they’ll never stop.

But.

There is sunshine beaming through the tall windows and sitting there, tucked into the corner window, Renjun is waiting for him.

He doesn’t say anything and Hyuck gratefully lets Injunnie take him by the hand and lead him back towards the Heart.

Back to the corridors where Donghyuck is a Witch Prince and they have a ceremony to complete.

Where he has one more spell left to give.

*

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!  
I hope you fell in love with my boys as much as i have writing them.
> 
> If you'd like to chat I can be found on twitter and curious cat. I have loved writing this world so much and i am always happy to talk world building and magic and my boys. 
> 
> [ @CaptainJacq](http://twitter.com/captainJacq)
> 
> [ Curious Cat"](Http://curiouscat.me/CaptainJacq)
> 
> Until next time  
MWAH  
xxxx


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